Forever Yours
by NeverBeforeOrAgain
Summary: Eragon's mission to bring the dragon's back has failed, there are no dragons, no riders, no anything! Or is there! It's the 21st century and Alyson is an ordinary girl, living a normal life. She finds her very own dragon and doesn't know what to do! With no answers and no one to turn to with knowledge of dragon riders: Can she trust the people who say they can help her?
1. Chapter 1

Everyone has those days in life that are too precious to forget; the day you meet your first love, the day your wedding, that day you have a child. These days linger with you for the rest of existence, even if you don't think of them always; they are right there, safe in your memory. The day I will always remember is the days I found my dragon.

I was 9 years old, turning 10 in two months and I was out with my dad at the creek. He was fishing while I played in the water, the air around us was sticky and wet but the sun was still beating down; my dad was sweating in his overalls, but I was wearing my favorite yellow dress. The green trees swayed in the breeze and the birds continued their never ending song, all in all- it was a gorgeous day. We lived up in the mountains, about an hour walk to the nearest town. We weren't hillbillies or anything, my brothers and I still went to school in town and my mom worked in town, but we lived on the mountain. Most would hate the seclusion, hate being stuck away from humanity, but I thrived in it. It was like I owned the forest and nobody could take it from me, the trees, flowers, birds and sun that shined on them all belonged to me.

I started to collect pebbles so that later I could sew them together and make a necklace(I know now that it was silly thought). I was very particular, they couldn't be too big or heavy and they couldn't be too dark, only light prety rocks would work for my necklace. Then, I saw it. It was a small white dot buried underneath the darkness and mud of the river. I shifted the rocks to grab it but it was suck, I mean **really** stuck. I dropped all the pebbles I had collected and grabbed the white stone with both hands and pulled as hard as I could. It was bigger than I thought it was... a lot bigger. almost as big as my head! I felt the rock slide in the mud, giving way to me and I yanked with all my strength. The rock came out suddenly, sending my backwards. I fell into the water but I had lost the rock! It fell out of my hands! I searched high and low for it but it seemed to have disappeared from the creek. I splashed in the water frantically, feeling my way to see the glorious white stone.

"Alyson!," my father called. "It's time to go!"

I left the water reluctantly and wrapped myself in my towel. I pouted the whole way home and my father noticed.

"What's wrong, Alyson?"

"I lost my rock," I whined.

He smiled," You'll find a better one."

"No! No, I never will!," I grumbled.

"Oh, is that so... and why wont you?"

"It was the best, most beautiful rock in the whole river, daddy! The whole mountains! Probably, the whole world and I lost it!"

My dad threw his head back and laughed, "Oh, Alyson..."

My dad said that a lot _'Oh, Alyson'_ like he knew something I didn't, like he was just so happy to say my name.

"You'll find a new rock, sweetheart. Who knows, maybe it'll be better."

"I doubt it," I mumbled to myself.

We got home and I went straight to my room and shut the door. I kept beating myself up about that stupid rock! I don't know why I wanted it so badly, it was just a rock! Not even a jewel or gem, just an ordinary rock! My parents noticed that I was down, but whenever they asked about it I shrugged them off and went to play.

* * *

Over time, I forgot about the marvelous white rock that had mysteriously vanished. Months turned to years and I moved on, started worrying about other things, new things like: clothes, my hair and boys. My parents weren't poor, but we always didn't live in a mansion; I got things I needed and some I wanted but they also had 4 other kids to look out for. I was very self conscious about myself; I wasn't really pretty and living with 4 brothers, I wasn't very skinny either. I was about 5'4, had blonde hair about halfway to the middle of my back and blue eyes. My freckles hadn't left my nose and I had a very lacking development in the chest and butt department. In short, I was a 17 year old girl- chubby, tall, and blonde who was loud and reckless.

Luckily, I wasn't too hideous because I did have a boyfriend and he was sweet kid. His name was Darion, his was tall and very lanky and he was very nerdy which was so adorable. My brothers always gave him shit, but he never cared and almost always gave them shit back. He was a great guy, the best; and I felt so lucky to have him in my life, happy. We had been together about 7 months and we were definitely taking things slow, so no sex. I was a virgin and still completely terrified to give that piece of myself up; it wasn't that I didn't want to with Darion, I was just a big step and there was no way I was going to rush that decision. Darion was a sweetheart about it, he was a virgin too so I think he was just as nervous as me.

It was summertime, Darion and I had just spent the day in our secret spot. It was a small tree that laid close to the ground with a maze of branches to sit on. We went there a lot when we needed privacy from my family, or just space to talk, we even went there when we needed to fight! We were walking back to my house, enjoying the silence between us, listening the world around us. I heard the birds still singing their song, the squirrels in the trees, the water splashing in the river, and the crunch of the underbrush under my feet.

"It's sooo hot!," Darion breaks the quiet. I glance over to him, he was sweating badly through his shirt, outlining his stomach. He didn't have abs or anything, but he did have a nice V line.

I bit my lip and looked back to the trail," Let's go then." I took a sharp right, leading him into the trees.

"Alyson! Where are you going?," he was right behind me. I followed the sound of the water, it was loud and I pushed past a tree and saw the creek flowing few yards away.

"Here we are...," I jumped down to the bank of pebbles.

Darion jumped after me, grabbed me from behind my waist and whispered into my neck," I didn't bring swim trunks."

I smiled and turned to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck," Good."

He chuckled and kissed me very slowly. His hands moved and lifted the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, he tossed it on the ground. Any other guy, I would pull away and be embarrassed about my weight, but Darion saw past all that: he saw me. I pulled him close, entangling my hands into his black curly hair and kissed him slowly, lingering on his lips. "Good...," I repeated breathlessly.

He chuckled deep in his throat," You have such a way with words."

"Shut up," I scoffed and hit his chest, we both laughed. We stripped and dove into the crisp clear water.

"OHH SHIIT! COLD! COLD! COLD! TOO COLD!," I lunged for the bank, but Darion wrapped his hands around me and swung me back into the water.

"Not so fast," he smirked and crossed his arms

"Is that you intimidating face," I raised an eyebrow.

He dropped his arms to his sides," I thought it was kind of intimidating."

He sounded like a sad puppy, so I swam over and lifted his head," Very scary."

He swept his hands under my legs and neck, like I was bride," That's how I lure them in: sad puppy face, works every time!" Then he plunged both of us into the water.

We swam for awhile, but the wind picked up and I started to shiver. We ran back to our clothes, trying to escape the harsh wind biting at our exposed skin. I buttoned my pants, while he pulled his shirt over his head. He was so cute: dark curly hair, dark eyes, soft lips. I was almost going to kiss him when the wind howled and shivers went down my spine.

"Shit! It should not be this cold in summer! Where's my shirt?," I asked.

"Uhmm.. I don't recall. I was kind of busy at the moment," then he grinned like a fool.

I rolled my eyes," Come on, we have to find it. It's cold!"

"I can keep you warm," he opened his arms.

"That sounds amazing," I walked towards him but stopped just out of reach, he furrowed his brow with confusion. "You know what doesn't sound amazing... arriving at my house without a shirt and explaining that to my brothers AND my dad."

He dropped his arms and scratched his head," Yeaaahh, that sounds not amazing."

We looked up and down the beach, but I didn't see it.

"There it is!," I hear him say and whip around to see him pointing towards the water.

I run to the creek and hear him right behind me," WHERE!?"

"Right there," he shouts and I see it. It's right at the border of the water, on the edge of falling in and floating away. I grab it before the wind it blows it over and clutch it to my chest.

"How the hell did you throw it all the way over here!?" I say while putting my shirt on.

"I didn't!," he protested. "Maybe the wind blew it over here."

"Excuses. Excuses," I chuckled and sit down on the rocks. He sits next to me and I lean against him so he wraps an arm around me. "My dad used to bring me here, back when he fished for fun. I always thought it was cool, because beaches everywhere are made of sand, but not mine: it has a pebble beach."

"It almost looks like a completely different place, you know? Almost like it doesn't belong in the mountain, like it belongs in a story or something."

" Yeah," I smiled up at him and he smiled down at me. We sat and talked for awhile before he said he needed to head home. "Can't be late for bedtime," I teased.

"Hell no I can't! If I don't get there she won't tuck me in," he joked.

"Shut up!," he helped me stand up. I took a step forward and fell flat on my butt, but Darion still had my hand, keeping me from falling over completely. "Ow!," I yelped.

"You good?"

"Yeah, it's just... I landed on something," I struggled to stand.

"The beach is made of rocks...," Darion mentioned.

I rolled my eyes and looked back at where I had fell and saw a white stone the size of the fish in the stream; around five or six inches. It was so blindingly bright, looking at it made my head moan. Darion bent down and picked it up," Pretty rock."

I looked down the river, but all the stones were gray or black, there were no other white rocks. I watched Darion flip the stone over and admire it's simple beauty. The rock was memorizing, it was hard to look away but it still hurt to watch it.

"Let me see it," I opened my hand and he passed it over. I held the stone, it was perfectly smooth with round edges; in a word the rock was perfect. "It's beautiful...," I whispered more to myself then Darion.

"Keep it. When you look at it, think of me and how giving I am to you; giving you this rock as a symbol of how-,"

"Shut up," I laughed, never looking away from the white stone in my hands. The brightness was beginning to fade and it hurt less to look at.

"Come on," he linked his arm in mine." M'lady..."

My other arm fell to my side, still clutching the rock," Good sir..."

We pretended to be a couple from the last century all the way back to my house.

"Ah, this is where I bid you farewell," he bowed slightly.

"My good sir, you shall cross my mind until we meet again. I hope that I will stay on your mind until our next acquaintance," I curtsied.

"Oh yes, you will be on my mind, but not in the most appropriate way a suitor should think of his maiden," he kissed my hand," I bid you adeui."

My brother, Asher, then leaned out of his opened window and yelled down at us," YOU BOTH SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF PUSSIES!"

Darion yelled up," THAT'S MORE THAN YOU'VE EVER GOT!"

Asher flipped us off, then shut his window. We laughed," See you later, gator," I reached up on my tip toes and kissed him softly.

"After awhile, crocodile," he turned and walked down the trail to town. I stayed there a minute, watching him fade then went inside.

I heard my parents bickering back and forth about whether Blurple should be an official color or not.

"It's a real color! It's own color!," my mom said.

I heard my dad sigh," It's the combination of two colors, not it's own color."

"Combining two colors create new colors! Like red and yellow make orange."

"Then why don't we start calling orange: Yellange or even Orallow! It's ridiculous!"

I smiled at their simple arguments, it was adorable.

I went into my room and locked the door, sat on my bed and placed the rock in my lap. It was so simple, so basic, just a white rock. I fell back on bed and let the day wash over me, remembering all the good things that happened, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke to the sound arguing; shouting back and forth. My brothers where at it again, everyday the bitched about who would shower first and how they stole the hot water and blah blah blah. I was a girl and I didn't complain as much as they did, I rolled over in bed and snuggled with my stuffed bear: his name was Pedro. Pedro was normal brown bear with a green bowtie, he was a gift from Darion on our third date and I had slept with him in bed ever since. I tried to calm my mind so I could drift back to sleep but there loud conversation carried through the thin walls.

I flung the covers off me and opened my door to see all four of my brothers standing a circle discussing who should shower first.

"Guys... it's like 6 in the morning...do you have to do this every day?," I rubbed my sleepy eyes.

"Everyone: Shhhhhh, princess needs her beauty rest," Asher mocked.

"Shut up! Seriously, you squabble like chickens or something," I leaned against the door frame.

"I'll shut up! I'll gladly shut up, Alyson; if you tell Ajax that it's not his turn to shower first. He was first yesterday and he stole all the hot water from the rest of the house!," my youngest brother Arsen accused.

"What! I didn't even shower here yesterday! I showered at the gym, maybe you should start going!," Ajax, my oldest brother, defended himself.

My brothers. The oldest one was Ajax, he was 26 but stilled lived at home. He was sort of the slacker of us all, more obsessed with his looks and charm then working his way through life. He had dated over half of the girls in town and only cared about leaving to a big city near a beach. Next was Asher, he was 23 and was going to the college in town to become an engineer so he still lived at home, too. Asher was really good with numbers and math, but he didn't like to do school work. The youngest ones: Arien and Arsen were twins and were only a year older than me. Arien and Arsen were identical, it was impossible to tell them apart, I was their sister and it took some time for me! Arien was more shy and laid back while Arsen was into everything like sports and clubs. Arsen was going to go to college at a big university; he had won some sports scholarship. Arien was going to a private college with a full ride due to his academic record. All my brothers were extremely handsome: strong jaws, muscles, good hair but they're personalities were completely different which annoyed the crap out of anyone within hearing range.

They continued their morning fight, which we all knew how it would end: Ajax would claim big brother title, so he would go first. Then Asher would say he was next oldest and once that was settled, the twins would rock-paper-scissors for the final spots.

I slipped back into my room and locked the door, it was too early. I jumped back into bed, but I knew that sleep was gone and not coming back. Groaning, I whipped out my phone and started messaging people, anyone, hoping they were up.

The morning drudged by slowly, I lived in a madhouse with my brothers all needing the car to leave and my dad working while my mom stayed home because she wasn't feeling well. I ran upstairs after morning chores and grabbed my hiking bag, it felt like forever since I'd been out on my nature walk. I made my bed in a rush and saw the white stone was on the floor. I picked it up carefully, it was just as before; white, smooth and breathtaking. I debated leaving it in the house, but then put it in my pack. I skipped out the front door, thrilled to be in the serene beauty of the never ending trees. No one, not even Darion, understood why I loved the woods so much; it was like a second home. The sound of the trees rustling in the wind, the flowers blooming brightly while the squirrels scurried around for food- it was music to my ears. I knew most of the woods where everything was, all the trails and paths.

At lunch, I sat down against an old pine tree that had some lover's initials carved in the bark. D.R + M.C= 4EVER _I wonder if they are still together. _I dug around for my water bottle and saw the stone was there, I had completely forgotten about it. I picked it up and rolled it around in my hands, _why is this so perfect? No rocks are this smooth! Maybe it's man made from a factory and someone left it in the river. _I looked closely but there was no brand on markings on it at all, just a pure white rock. _Too white_, I thought._ This has been by a river for however long and it isn't even dirty! Mystery rock... spooky. _The rock seemed familiar, like maybe I had seen it before._ Maybe on a commercial...for rocks. That's stupid. Maybe it's not a rock. Maybe it's a toy or something. I swear I've seen it._

I gripped the rock tightly, frustrated with myself for not remembering. _Where have I seen it! _A sharp pain came out of no where on my hands and I dropped the stone on the ground. It was like the rock had shocked me and burned me at the same time but when I looked at my hands, there were fine. No marks, scratched or scars.

I was hesitant to pick the stone up again, so I grabbed it fast and shoved it in my bag. I slung the bag on my shoulder and ran all the way back to the house. Once I was in my room, I called Darion to tell him to get his ass over to my house.

"Alyson...," he groaned," It's like... 1 in the afternoon."

"Really? You're still not up yet?"

"No, I stayed up late last night, it was a World of Warcraft thing that lasted-"

I cut him off," Darion! Come on! This is serious, I need your help."

"Okay. Okay, I'm coming. Give me 30 minutes."

"Make it 20," I was desperate.

I could sense he had on a stupid dorky grin while he spoke," Why are you in such a hurry? Miss me so much? Don't worry, I'll be there; you don't have to beg."

"Really," I asked with a flat voice. "Really?"

He laughed," I'll be there soon," and hung up with a click.

I paced my room waiting for him, glancing at the bag with uncertainty. _What the hell is that rock! Why did it burn me! Where are the burn marks! What is it? What is it? _Darion managed to get there in just under 30 minutes, before he could even say hello I ambushed him.

"The stone is evil!," I grabbed his hand and dragged him upstairs past my brothers who made some sick comments.

"What are you talking about," Darion was obviously confused.

"The stone! The stone we found the other day! It's evil!," I locked the door to my room.

"How early did you wake up today," Darion joked.

"Darion! The rock burned me!," I told him.

The grin fell from his face," Where? Are you okay? Let me see."

"They vanished! It burned me or whatever and then the marks vanished!," I tried to explain.

His worried face dropped, but he was still concerned," What are you trying to say?," he dragged his words out.

I growled with confusion," The white rock we found burned me and now your looking at me like Im crazy!"

"No, I don't think you're crazy," he reassured me," It's just... you scared me for a minute."

"You should still be scared! That rock is fucking not real, it can't be!"

"Okay. it's just that-"

He was cut off by a pounding on my door. "HEY! CLOTHES BETTER BE ON IN THERE! NO NAKEDNESS IN THIS HOUSE!"

I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door, it was Asher, of course.

"What do you want, Asher?," I demanded. He pushed past me into my room. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you know... just making sure everything is PG in here," he walked over to Darion and circled him while looking him up and down," Just checking in."

"Well... everyone in here has clothes on," Darion observed," Maybe you should barge into all the other rooms in the house."

I rolled my eyes, _when will they just stop! _"Ash, nothing's happening, okay? Now get out."

He ignored me," Well, the other rooms in my house don't have my baby sister and some hormonal boy behind a locked door, so this was my first choice."

"Ash!"

"Well... you did a great job, gold star for you. Alyson and I are having an important conversation-"

Asher chuckled," That's how it all starts.."

"ASH!," I yelled, appalled about what he was saying.

He got all defensive," Well it is!"

"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! JUST GET OUT!," I dragged and pushed him to the door. "It's not like we've never been alone before!," I mentioned while he was safely in the hall.

"Which I never approved of," he began as I shut the door in his face. I sighed and turned the lock while placing my head on the door," You think I'm crazy..."

Darion came from behind me," No, I don't. You have a brilliant imagination and some-"

"I didn't imagine this , Darion! It happened: the rock is magic or something! It's driving me insane," I pushed past him and rustled through my bag to show him. I felt it's cool smooth surface and pulled it out," This stone... this whatever it is! I mean, is it even a rock, Darion? Does this look like a rock to you?"

Darion raised his shoulder and put his hands in his pockets," I don't know. It looks like a rock to me, a really white rock, but a rock none the less."

I rolled my eyes and fell backwards onto my bed," I think I'm loosing it...," I whispered.

Darion came and lay next to me," Why do you say that? Because you think a rock burned you? Pshhhh... that's nothing. I thought the mailman wanted to kill me for 2 years!," he laughed.

"Are you serious," I chuckled.

"Yeah. He was always at my house ringing the doorbell, asking if anyone was home. I was convinced if I answered he would shoot me, like on the movies... now that was crazy."

I thought about it then asked," Do you want to hear something **really** crazy?"

He shifted on the bed to face me with his adorable smirk," Of course."

"I swear... that I've seen this rock before...," I shifted to face him. We were inches apart and I was scanning his face for a sign of disbelief but he just lay there with his little smirk.

"I know," was all he said. I was silent, _What? Hoe does he know! I barely know?! _" I saw it yesterday."

I processed his words and rolled my eyes but started to laugh, so did he and we just lay there giggling.

"This is why I love you," I said while still laughing, but then I heard that it was only me laughing, he stopped. He was laying there silently looking at my ceiling. He looked like he was lost in his own world, lost in his mind, or just lost. "Darion?," I sat up," Darion, are you okay?"

"You love me," was all he managed.

"Yeah, I do," I smiled then my face drained of emotion and color. _...this is why I love you. ...this is why I love you. I said that. I love you. I said that! _We had never said it before, not out loud at least. I had thought it all the time, whenever he did that adorable stupid smirk, whenever he made a smart ass comment, whenever he swirled his finger in his hair. I had loved him since the day he asked me to be his girlfriend, it seems like forever ago: 7 months. We had been together for 7 months and never said I love you. I don't think either of us knew how to say it, especially me. He was my very first boyfriend and I had always hated the couples that said I love you after a mere 3 hours of dating. But this... this was unexpected. _I told him I loved him... out of NOWHERE! And worse... he hasn't said anything._

I jumped off the bed nervously,"Darion... I-I... I-" I couldn't speak, I had no idea what to say. He sat up still a blank face, looking straight foreward. He turned his head up to look at me, but I averted his eyes. _Why did I say that?_

"I love you," he said, his voice almost cracked.

I turned back to him,"What?"

"Alyson Rain Dulra, I love you. I really do, you are perfect. I don't now why I haven't told you that everyday since our first kiss. I should have said it, I should have told you. I have thought about telling you for what seems like forever, but I didn't want to scare you away. I know that we wanted to take the slow path, but I think we've waited too long."

_He loves me back. Darion loves me. I love him. We love each other. _It really shouldn't have shocked me... or him. It had been 7 months and neither of us wanted it to end, at least I didn't. It only makes since that we love each other.

"I love you Darion, since day one. I love all your little quirks, al your nerdy perfection, and I love that you make me better," a tear slide down my cheek. Darion wiped it away but left his hand on my face, I gripped his hand in mine and we stayed there: looking at each other. I had always hated when Darion grabbed my face, it was so fat and unflattering; I had no sexy jawline or a slender neck, I had chubby cheeks and sometimes double chin. In this moment, I didn't care, neither did he... because he loved me and that was enough.


	3. Chapter 3

The day was June 17th, 2015; the day I will cherish forever. Most would ay it should have been the 16th: the day I first said I love you to anyone other than family, but I remember it only as the day leading to this one. It started like any other: waking up to the sound of the four overgrown babies who stayed in my house crying like little girls. _I'm not doing this today_, I thought. I got up, grabbed a towel and some clothes, walked past the flock of squabbling boys right into the bathroom without a pause and locked the door. I stood there for a minute listening, but there was nothing to hear, they had gone silent. _HA! Speechless. _I showered slowly, taking my time and most of the hot water just to see their faces when I opened the door.

I pushed the door and saw my brothers separated from their circle to stare at me with a mixture of confusion, anger and awe.

"Morning," I smiled and strutted back to my room.

All I heard from behind me was "I'm next" before I shut the door and started to giggle happily. _Today is going to be great_, I thought. I took extra long to get ready: I did my hair, makeup, picked a really cute sundress to wear, I even plucked my eyebrows and lip! I had this crazy notion that today was the day, that today was the day I was going to lose it and have sex with Darion. I guess it was combination of things: we had said we loved each other, we had been together for almost 8 months and the fact that I felt like we needed to take a new step in the relationship. I was scared that he was going to start expecting more from our relationship, so I was going to be a step ahead of it.

I finished getting ready and went downstairs. My mom was up and about, cooking breakfast for everyone and my dad was reading the paper. _He is so old, but you have to suck up to them. BIG TIME._

"Morning Daddy," I smile and kissed him on the cheek.

He lowered the paper and gave me a once over," What do you want?," he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," I replied," Can't I just love you?," I asked innocently.

"Not without an agenda," he flipped through the paper. My mom snorted a laugh while plating some French toast.

I scoffed," Daddy, I just-"

"No."

"But I didn't even-"

"No," he smirked.

"Dan, stop it," my mom laughed. "What do you want, sweetie?"

"I just want to spend the night at Mara's house is all."

"You know the rules," my mom said while shuffling to fill up the glasses at the table.

"But mmmooommm," I whined.

"Don't 'But mom' me: we want to talk to their parents first."

"Mom, I'm 17, in a few months, I'll be 18: an adult. I should be treated like one, I do everything you ask but you still don't trust me," I crossed my arms. In reality, I could care less I was leaving soon anyway for college, but I needed to act serious so they would let me do it.

My mom stood up straight and glanced past mw to my dad, who most likely shrugged, so she sighed and turned back to me. "Will there be alcohol?"

"No."

"Drugs?"

"No."

"Strippers?," she smirked.

"No mom," I laughed," All legal, just a girl's night, okay? Please?"

My mom sighed again," Oh alright," she said grumpily.

"Thanks, mom!," I hugged her tightly.

"Go on," she shooed," Sit down and eat."

After breakfast, I danced upstairs, so far my plan was going smoothly. I texted Mara to tell her to go along with it if my parents secretly tried to call hers, she agreed without question._ This is really happening! This is happening! _I clutched my phone to my chest as I flopped down on to my bed and kicked my feet excitedly like a school girl.

All of the sudden, something fell to the floor. I sat up and turned to the source of the noise: it was my bag. My bag fell from the desk to the floor. _Must be too full,_ I didn't think much of it and returned to my giddy daydreams about the evening, which was impossibly far away. _I wonder if Darion will want to... Of course he will, he is a guy after all. But what if he doesn't? Oh god, I would feel like a complete idiot! What if he feels rushed because he **just** said "I love you" and then I throw myself on him like a half price hooker desperate for attention. I don't want to move too fast for him..._

Another thud across the room broke my deep train of thought, "I glanced, but there was nothing. My bag was still on the floor and that was it. My room was surprisingly clean, probably because I haven't been in here that much this past week. _What do I do?... Ma__ybe I should call me or something-No. I can't... I'll text him!_

I reached across my bad in search of my phone hidden within the sheets and herd that thud sound again. I whipped my head around and there was nothing. _Ughh... b_rothers, I rolled my eyes passing it off as a dumb prank. I found my phone and my mind drew a blank, _what do I say? Start simple,_ I told myself._ Just a simple Hi._

**_Hi(:_**

I gripped my phone tightly, then sank back into bed realizing he probably wasn't up, it was only 8 in the morning. _I'm going to drive myself crazy all day until he texts me back!_ It was like the Gods heard my plea and my phone vibrated in my hands.

**Hey(3**

_Awwweeeee! He put a heart! He must be okay with everything, not feeling to rushed at all! Wait, why is he awake? **How** is he awake?_

**_Wyd? _**

**_Nm. At home, my mom left this morning for Chicago._**

_Why is his mom going to Chicago? Oh...right! He told me about her trip a few weeks ago, she'll be gone for a whole week at some conference. That means: he has the house to himself._

**Fun. Are you going to throw a house party?**

**Ha, yeah. All my virtual friends will come, it'll be a great time.**

**I'm still waiting for my invitation.(;**

**You always get invited. Do you want to come over?**

_He invited me over! It's not like I've never been to his house before, I've been there loads of times and most of the time we were alone, but this was different. There was no way his mom would walk in on us, or my parents either! It would just be us!_

I was in the middle of my text back to him, telling him I was coming, when the noise across the room made me jump.

"Asher! Stop it," I shouted, turning back to my phone.

The thud came again, but it sounded different, more like something was breaking. I stood up slowly, leaving my phone on the bed," Asher?," I was beginning to question my brothers involvement.

I walked over to the noise, _where is it coming from? _I scanned the room, but there was nothing. I turned back to my bed when I saw a movement from the corner of my eyes.

"AHA!," I shouted aloud: it was my bag. _What? My bag? _I got on my knees and reached for it, but right before I touched it, it moved again. "Ahh," I threw it across the room in a moment of fear. _What. The. Fuck._

Then my ears where filled with a high pierced screech, I covered them, trying to drain the sound out my it was relentless. I stood up quickly, staring at my bag in horror, it was still moving. I ran to the door, unlocked it and slammed it shut.

"ASHER!," I screamed so loudly, I thought I could have been in an opera. I ran down the stairs,"ASHER!"

"Chill, Alyson," I hear Ajax say calmly from the couch, he was watching Tosh.0.

"Where is he!? Where is that little bitch!? I'll kill him! Tell me, Ajax!," I demanded.

"He's not home, sis. He went out about an hour ago," he giggled," you need to chill out," he smiled. Ajax's eyes were red and I could smell the weed on him, I rolled my eyes, _he will be no help!_

"Where is Arsen then!?"

"They left together. What are you so amped about?," he rubbed his eyes.

_If Arsen and Asher aren't here, then who is doing this? Arien never pulled pranks and Ajax was stoned out of his mind, too relaxed to do this._

"Hey, Alyson," Arien came down the stairs carrying books," there are some freaky noises coming from your room. You got some one tied up in there?"

My face went numb, _who is doing this? What the hell is up there?_

"I think we have rats or something... I can hear them in my room!" It was the only logical thing I could think of that was happening.

"I'll tell dad when he gets home," Arien grabbed a yogurt from the fridge," I'm going to Jenny's."

"Yeah, whatever," I wasn't listening.

"Have a good time, bro. Wear protection!," Ajax called out to him.

"WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!," Arien explained threw gritted teeth," THAT'S ALL!"

"If you were just friends, you wouldn't be so defensive," Ajax teased.

I didn't want to hear them argue, so I went back upstairs. I paused outside my door and put my ear up to the door: silence. Maybe it's over? I opened the door, my bag was next to the bed._ How did it get there? Who moved it? What is in it?!_

I stepped slowly over the bag and kneeled down in front of it. I closed my eyes and opened it quickly, expecting a squirrel or something to jump out at me, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes and saw that it was mostly empty, there were some clothes and big chunks of white.

"What the hell?," I said out loud. I picked up a solid white piece," What is this?" Examining the chunk of white stuff, it was really smooth, beside the jagged edges where it looked like it had broken. _What could have broke in here? There was nothing in here...nothing. Nothing besides that rock. The rock broke? How the hell does a rock break?_

I stood up baffled by what was happening, still clutching the piece of stone in my hand. _What just happened? _I sat on the side of my bed, fondling the smooth white chunk in my hands. _That doesn't explain why my bag was being thrown around like it was possessed. Rocks don't crack and open. Treasure chest open, doors open, rocks don't. _I looked down at the small piece stone and turned it side wise, facing the smooth part upwards, it's too thick to be egg of some kind.

My phone vibrated behind me and looked and saw that Darion was calling me. I took a deep breath ad grabbed the phone," Hey," I smiled, hoping it would sound smooth and natural.

"Hi, where are you? Are you coming?"

"Yeah! Oh.. right: YEAH! Yeah, I'm coming," I hit myself in the head.

"Are you alright, Alyson?," he sounded worried.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just... just a little frazzled. Asher and Arsen are playing these stupid pranks on me and it got to me.."

"Those guys are...," he stopped himself," Sometimes, I don't know. One of these days, we'll have to pull a prank on them," he chuckled which made me laugh too.

"Yeah, we do."

"So, I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon."

"Alright. See you then," he paused then said," I love you."

"I-I love you, too," I spoke softly.

"See you soon," he hung up with a click.

_I love you. _I smiled looking down at the stone in my hands, _I was in a good mood, why let this stone ruin it?_

Behind me, I heard something scurry across the floor, I could hear nails clinking against the wood. I was mortified by the sound, _Oh god, we do have rats! Don't turn around, don't turn around! Everyone always turns around to see in movie and it always ends up bad!_

I heard the sound of the nails on the floor again, but this time it was closer._ I need to get out! I need to run for the door! _I knew I wouldn't make it, I knew deep down that I had to see what it was. _Was it a giant rat? Was it a squirrel? What the hell made it in my room?_

I stood up, moving slowly with fluid motion, so it would look like a non threatening figure. I turned to look at my room as a whole, too see the creature walking around, but the floor was empty, just like my bag had been. The noise resumed, but this time, it was under the bed. _Oh god, why do you do this to me!?_

I got down on my knees, my eyes were shut tight. _This is everyone's worst nightmare! I'm going to se the monster under my bed!_Placing my hands on the floor, I bent down and opened my eyes to peer under my bed. That's when I saw it. The very first time, was a moment of complete terror inches away from wetting myself.

I took in a sharp breath, _WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? _The small figure snapped it's focus to me, it's eyes were a deep sea blue and huge for it's tiny head! My breathing picked up, _it's looking at me! It's looking at me!_ The creature then shifted its body so it could face me easier, it had a tail and what looked like wings._ It can't have wings though, right? Right. How more terrifying can this little thing get? _God must have been laughing, because it opened it's mouth and exposed it's pointed teeth, not in a threatening ay, but I was shaking with my fear.

Then, the small, blued eyed, fanged and possibly winged creature stood up from its crouched position and ran at my face and lighting speed.


	4. Chapter 4

I screeched and fell back on my butt, but the creature wasn't phased, it continued charging at me. I crawled backwards on my hands breathing heavily, heart pounding. _This is how I die! I'm going to die! Or it'll give me rabies! KICK THAT FUCKING THING!_ I drew back my leg, ready to shoot he animal across the room, but it stopped on its rapid crawl at the edge of my bed. It's large blue eyes were staring at me, they were mesmerizingly blue; they were so deep and beautiful. I put my leg back on the floor, still gulping in oxygen, terrified of the small thing.

I drew my legs in and hugged my knees,_ Oh my god. Oh my god. What is happening? What is happening? _I heard the clacking of nails against the floor and shot my head up to defend my self, but the animal was walking towards my desk, not me. It was a scaly creature, like a snake but with larger scales. It was white, blindingly so that it reminded me of the stone. My mouth dropped open when I saw it's wings, _It has wings! What creature has wings! What is it ? Where did it come from? _It had large nails, which explained the noise it made from walking; it was so small, it looked so harmless. _It looks like a dragon or something! Dragons don't exist! DRAGONS DONT EXIST!_ I took a deep breath, _then what the hell is that thing?_

The animal ambled around the room, no longer caring about whether I was there or not; It screeched loudly at my shoes lined up on the wall, _It doesn't seem too afraid... not like I am. What is it? Why is it here?...It's so pretty... _It turned back to me with it's bright blue eyes and opened it's mouth and screeched again. I jumped back, still nervous about whether it was friendly or not. I walked to my bed and grabbed my phone while the scaly beast retreated back underneath.

The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. _Darion! Come one! Answer! Answer!_ I called again, but he still didn't pick up so I threw my phone on the bed in rage, which frightened the little animal and it ran out awkwardly and straight into my closet. _What do I do? How can I know what to do if I don't know what it is?! Do I call pest control?...the animal shelter?...wildlife rescue?... Dragon patrol?_

I sat down at my desk, peeking at the closet every few seconds, and pulled up Google. I typed in the description of the small animal: white animal that looks like a dragon. The results where sites showing strange animals, but none that looked like this one. I sighed and pushed back from the desk, _it's being really quiet._

I went to closet and stuck my head in to see the small beast gnawing on my favorite sandals. I gasped with shock," HEY! Stop that!" The creature continued chomping away," No no no no no no!"

_You can't touch it! It could be ravenous and bite you!... But not if you grab at the base of the neck! _I bent down and grasped it at the neck, but was stopped by the searing agony that raced into my hand and up my arm, spreading throughout my body. My brain felt like it was catching fire; I snatched my hand back, but it was too late, the pain stayed. Everything was electric like I was hooked up to a car charger, like I was injected with all drugs mixed: it felt like I was on the brink of death. The pain faded, leaving a tingling sensation all over, tears were streaming down my face, _What is happening!? I'm going to die. Am I dying?_

I fell to the floor in a pile and sobbed uncontrollably; I didn't hear the animal approach me, but I felt its rough touch on my leg and pulled away immediately. It didn't cause any pain, but I didn't care.

"What are you!?," I was still shaking.

It gave a playful snort and trotted towards me happily, I tried to back away, but my hand was still aching. I looked down at it and there was a slanted line etched into my skin like a cut. _What the fuck? Where did this come from? _It nuzzled into me, making my flinch, but I didn't move away; I don't know why, but my fear of the creature was lessened, it seemed nonthreatening. I felt a hunger in my mind, but it wasn't my hunger. It was almost as if I could sense the hunger of someone else, like the creature was telling me it was hungry.

I stood up and sat down at my desk again, _What the fuck is happening?! WHAT THE FUCK_, I screamed internally. I caught a glimpse of my reflection, I looked hideous: my mascara had left black lines down my face, my eyeliner left raccoon circles around my eyes and my hair looked like a rats nest. _I'm a mess! _

Just then, my phone rang and I leaped up to answer," Hello!," I didn't other hiding the crazy from whoever was on the line.

"Alyson? What's wrong? You called me like-"

I didn't have time to explain," COME OVER! RIGHT NOW! THIS IS URGENT, I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE! PLEASE, HURRY!," I started to cry.

"ALYSON?! What's wrong? Talk to me!," Darion sounded desperate.

"Please," I said between fits of tears," Please hurry!"

I heard the click of the line and dropped my phone and curled into my bed and let the tears fall. I laid there for a while until I felt the hunger brush my mind again, which ultimately made me hungry. I sat up in bed and wiped the tears from my eyes. I went to the door and heard the familiar clink of the animal and turned to see it following me.

"No," I left and shut the door behind me.

Downstairs, I saw that everyone had left and I was home alone. I opened the fridge and took out the chicken from last night and ate two legs cold, it was the best thing I had ever tasted. _I wonder if that thing is hungry? What can I feed it? What even is-_

My train of thought was broke by the crash of the front door: _Darion! _I dropped the chicken leg in my hand on to the floor and rushed to the entry way. I heard him fleeing up the stair to my rescue. I reached the stairwell and saw him disappear down the hall.

"Darion!" He was back in vision in less than a second, he saw me and stopped. He was breathing deeply and his cheeks were flushed with color, he raced down the stairs,

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?," he wrapped his arms around me stroking my hair.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around him and tears seeped out slowly," Darion."

"Shh," he soothed me while I cried into his chest.

"Darion" I blubbered," You- won't- believe- me."

"Shh," he wasn't listening. My breathing slowed and my heart race steadied. _If I tell him he won't believe me! He'll think I'm crazy! The only way he wont run away is if he sees it!_

I stepped back and grabbed his hand," Come," he resisted my tug of his arm," Come on!," I pulled.

"Alyson? What's wrong? you sounded hysterical?! Like you were seconds from death! What happened?," Darion fired question after question, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"You have to see it," I replied solemnly, I opened my door and stood in the entry. "**It's** in there."

"What? What is it?"

"I-I don't know," I told him as it skittered across the floor to us.

We both jumped back and yelped loudly, it had caught me way of guard.

"Get back! Get back, Alyson!," Darion pulled me into the hall. It ran right up to me and smiled up at me with its pointy white teeth, it looked kind of cute. I saw Darion move to attack it but held out my arm as a barricade.

"Wait! No!," I shouted, scaring the white creature so it coward behind me. I felt it's panic and fear in my head.

"No? ," Darion's eyes furrowed.

"Darion! I don't want you to kill it, I just- I just..."

"Just what, Alyson?! What did you want me to do?!

"I don't know!," I shouted," I just- I just don't know!," I was yelling more at myself than him." It's just so weird and scary and creepy and, yes at times really vicious, but I don't know!," I turned down the small scaly animal," But... I don't want to hurt! I actually...," I turned my gaze back to Darion' I actually wan to protect it." _Protect it? PROTECT IT? It poisoned you! It ate your shoes! Its in your head! And you want to protect it! _It was in that moment that I realized that I **did** in fact want to protect it. I wanted to love it and care for it as long as it lived, I wasn't afraid. I was hit with a moment of clarity that it needed me; I still have no idea how or why it happened in that split second, but it did.

"PROTECT IT! PPROTECT IT?," Darion was opened mouthed and bug eyed. "WHAT EVEN IS IT?"

"I-I don't know," I bent down and felt it's smooth white scales, the creature seemed to purr with pleasure and I felt it's happiness like it was my own. "All I know is that I need to help it. Can you help me, Darion?"

I looked up at him and he was still opened mouthed," Yeah," he put his hands on his hand and interlaced his fingers," I can help you dig a hole!"

"Darion, please? I don't want to hurt it! I want your help so we can figure it out! I mean, come one? Aren't you a little curious about what he is?"

"So wait what?! It's a he now? We are now giving it a gender?! What? I can't believe this," he paced the hall," I don't understand! You called me and begged me hysterically to come over! And know you're so calm and collected about the whole thing!"

"I know. I'm sorry! I just, I don't know. I'm just not scared that he's harmful, I think he's just as terrified as us," The winged beasy rolled onto it's back and it scratched his belly.

"Alyson! That's ridiculous," he scoffed and the animal squealed and rolled over. "Just- Just stand up," he yanked me up by the arm," Don't treat it like it's a dog!"

"Darion, I need your help? Please help me! I want to help him!"

"Don't get to close, it could bite you," he warned.

I rolled my eyes," Are you even listening? And besides, it... it kind of already did," I looked down to my shoes.

"IT BIT YOU!," heard his rage bubbling

"Not with it's teeth, but he kind of bit my mind, you know? I can sort of like sense what he's feeling; kind of like I can read his mind. Oh god, this is crazy! You think I'm crazy!"

"Alyson, I don't think you're crazy, I don't," he stopped pacing," but I don't think I can do this... I'll call you. Stay away from it!"

I felt my jaw slip as he turned and thudded down the steps, seconds later I heard the familiar sound of the front door shutting.

_Darion..._

His hunger slide across my mind, but I was frozen in place by what Darion had done. _He walked away. He **ran** away. He left me all by myself, with this possibly dangerous animal! What a fucking douche! Fucking asshole!_

My little beast began to wail and puff black smoke out of his snout._ Oh god! He can breathe fire!_ I brushed the thought away and guided him back to my room so I could shut the door. I walked down the steps slowly, replaying the day in my head: _Wake up, find weird thing, call Darion, Darion abandons you.. Today is the worst day ever. That pretty much sums up the day as a whole._

I took the rest of the chicken upstairs and fed it to the creature, it was a learning process. I tossed it the full leg and it almost choked trying to eat it whole. I ripped off pieces and tossed them to him. He ate three legs before his collapsed on the floor and close his eyes, drifting into a food coma; I picked him up and snuggled him onto the bed.

I went to my laptop to discover what he was:_ What the fuck is he? He doesn't look real. _I tried everything, every adjective to describe him but nothing came back remotely close to his appearance. I spun in the chair and stared at the dozing beast. _He can't be! They don't exist! Dragon's aren't real! _After battling myself, I typed in white dragons and pictures of giant magnificent beasts filled the screen. _No way! He will not get this big! _I typed in baby afterward and images of small scally white dragons filled the page. _That's him. That's him_, I turned back to my bed, _He's a dragon!_


	5. Chapter 5

The first night was long and tiring; I was trying to keep the dragon quiet so no one would hear him. It was much more difficult than I had originally thought, he was up and bouncing everywhere want to be everywhere and do everything. I was so frustrated, _Oh My God! Can you please stop! PLEASE?!,_ I grabbed my hair with desperation. The small white animal turned back and stared at me with it's big blue eyes and I felt a calm wash over me. _How is it doing that? How the hell can it possibly be in my head!?_

I went to the computer and googled some answers: the results were dismal and vague. I did find some useful information like that dragons grow at alarming rates and they eat in large quantities. How_ big can it get? It's so small. How will I keep it here if it grows anymore? What will I feed it?! _My mid was filled with questions, but I was exhausted and trudged to my bed and collapsed. The dragon jumped onto the bed and snuggle at my feet, I could feel it's slow steady breathing which lulled me to drift away.

I awoke to the sound of arguing outside the door, _Some things never change._ I sat up and rubbed my eyes thinking of the strange dream that I had had last night. Wow! I sat up and felt something move at m legs: _Oh no_! I pulled back the blanket and I saw the scaly animal shaking it's head. _Oh No! It's real! It's all real. How can I keep this secret? Darion knows, but that's it. I could still hide him... in the basement? No, too small. In the woods, maybe... but someone could find him? _

The dragon purred and sat up, waking from it's slumber. It turned and saw me and I could feel his joy of seeing me, It made me smile. I checked my phone at saw 3 missed calls from Darion and decided to call him back.

"Alyson? Alyson is that you?," he answered the phone.

"Yeah," I said stroking the dragons hard scales.

"Oh, thank god Alyson! I was so worried about you! I called but you didn't answer and I was afraid that... that something happened."

"Well, I'm fine."

"Alyson, can we just talk about last night?"

"I can't. I'm busy today with... with stuff, so maybe later."

I could hear the devastation in his voice," Oh, yeah. Sure, okay."

"I'll talk to you later," I paused," I love you."

All I heard was the click of the phone and the drone of the empty line. _Today is not starting off well. _

I decided that it was best to keep him outside in the forest, somewhere close but also somewhere nearby. I snuck him into my bag, he was very displeased and squealed. I ran outside, dodging my parent and brothers and ran up the trail away from town. When the house was out of view I let the creature out and he frowned before exploring the world around him. He squealed with delight while running down the path, _I'm glad he likes it our here. _We chased each other for a while before turning of the trail and going deeper into the trees. We reached a clearing with plenty of room for him to run and play in, so I chose it for his new home.

_How will I keep him here? Shit! I should have thought this through. I have to get something to keep him here, like a cage or maybe a leash._ I turned and looked at the little dragon playing contently in the long grass.

" I have to go," I called out to him," I need you to stay here," it didn't even seem to hear me. _Maybe I can sneak away... _I backed up but he saw and came bounding towards me," No!," I said sternly. "No. Stay. Stay." He didn't listen and followed, " No, you stay here in the grass. Go!" He looked confused, Suddenly my head was filled with the image of my room. It was my room but from his view, it looked so large and open. The picture faded and I looked back to him shocked.

_What the fuck?! How did he do that?... Can I do that? _I imagined the tall grass on the other side of the clearing and reached out to him. He then turned back to the grass, S_hit! He saw it! He Saw what I was thinking! Oh my god! Oh my god!_

This went on for a while, I sent him a picture then he would return one to me. Most of his were things I had seen, like the forest, my room, Darion. After an hours or so, I stood up to go and he followed me again, "No," I told him, but just as before he didn't understand. I sent him an image of the clearing , trying to say he should stay there.

He was fidgety and wanted to follow but he stayed in place and I turned and ran back to the trail. I raced back home at record speed and I felt some embarrassment as I gasped for breath. I begged Ajax to borrow his truck which he taunted me with before giving me the keys and I raced into town. I spent about 175 dollars on electric fence kit and bought some dog bones. It was the only thing I thought would work, I paid and speed back through town to my house. I parked the truck, threw the keys on the porch and raced back up the path to my dragon.

I had been gone 45 minutes which had felt like an eternity. Pushing the trees back, I found the clearing and looked frantically for him, but I didn't see him.

"HELLO! COME HERE BOY! COME HERE!" I yelled, searching the clearing for him. _STUPID! STUPID! He left! It's a fucking animal, of course it didn't stay. Fucking stupid! _Then I felt his presence in my mind, he was happy. _Where are you? Come back. I wonder if he can hear me?_

The white animal emerged from sky and glided down to the clearing, I ran and embraced him. "You scared me!," I scolded," You were supposed to stay!" He cringed at my harsh voice. I sighed," I'm just glad you're okay," he nuzzled into me.

It took most of the day for me to set up the fence, there were so many step and instruction. I was almost done when I heard my phone ring.

"Hello," I answered still reading.

"Hey...," Darion voiced filled my ear.

"Oh...," I lowered the pamphlet," Hey."

"I just wanted to check up on you. Good to know you're not dead yet," he paused," I stopped by your house but your mom said you went up the mountain."

"Yeah, I did. Connection is kind of shitty up here, Darion but-"

"Alyson! Please stop and talk to me! Your being really weird with this thing and I don't like it."

"HE is a dragon," I responded," And don't pin this on me! I asked you for help and you declined so, I don't know what you want from me."

Darion stayed silent," I want... I want you to be safe, Alyson. And that thing, that creature, isn't safe. I haven't called anyone yet but I really wanted to. I knew that-"

Called someone," I interrupted," Like who? Animal control? The police? Who exactly were you going to call?Wait- never mind. Don't answer."

"Alyson, can't you see I want you safe!"

"Can't you see that I am! He is not dangerous! He isn't!"

"How can you tell? You only just found him last night!?"

"I just know Darion! He and I share a bound, we are connected! He wouldn't hurt me," I tried to explain but Darion didn't listen.

"Alyson, I don't want to fight about it. I don't, but I don't like him. I don't like him around you."

I rolled my eyes," I'm sorry. I really am, but he isn't going anywhere. Are you making this an ultimatum?"

"Alyson, I don't want it to get to that. I don't! It's a crazy situation and I don't know what to do..."

"Darion, I know it's odd but you have options. 1: you can man up and get over your fear, come over and meet my new pet dragon. 2- you can break up with me and live a normal average joe life. 3- you can call someone and try to get him taken from me, which I will never forgive and spend the rest of my life trying to destroy you. I love you, Darion. I really do and I want to be with you, but if you can't handle this... then I don't know."

"I love you, too Alyson. I just... I don't know," he sighed into the phone.

"Take some time, think about it. Weigh the options and call me back when you know what you want," I reassured him," I'm not going anywhere and neither is he. I love you Darion, but I don't want you to make a decision that will haunt you."

"Yeah," he said absentmindedly. "I'll call you later. I love you."

"I love you too," I said then pressed the End Call button. "God! I hate him sometimes!," I spoke to my scaly friend. "Sometimes he just...URG!" I found that dragons were terrific listeners even if I knew he didn't know what I was saying I ranted on and on about Darion and our relationship until I had finished the fence around the clearing.

I fastened the collar around his slim white neck and walked to the treeline. He hesitated at first then came charging at me but whimpered when he reached the edge. I instantly ran to him, regretting putting him in pain," I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!," I rocked him. His pain was mild, but enough to stop him from crossing the line again.

I gave one of the giant dog bones and he chowed down, _he's like a puppy! _We spent the rest of the day playing and sending pictures to one another. When they sun hit the tree line, I stood to go and saw his face drop. "I'll come back tomorrow, with some more food and we'll spend all day together!," I stroked his head and he purred with pleasure. I sent calming thoughts and images of me coming back, but he still whimpered when I left.

I entered the house, and escaped to my room. I researched more about Dragons and how to deal with them but there was close to nothing beneficial. It was so frustrating to be so blind in this situation. _How can I tell if it's a boy? What if it's a girl? What am I going to name him or her? Where will it go when it grows up, he can't hide there forever!... What am I going to do?!_

I tossed that night, restless and afraid someone would stumble upon my baby dragon. Nothing lived in the woods that was dangerous, only deer, but I still was on edge. The next morning I woke before dawn and went out to see him; he was asleep in the grass: perfectly safe. I left before he woke and went home to shower.

After a few days of going to see him, I stopped worrying about him being found and started to worry about his grow. He had grown to double his size! He was eating everything I brought and still asking for more, _I can't keep feeding him! He'll eat my family out of house and home!_ I reluctantly disabled the electric fence and let him wander the woods. I sent him visuals of hunting and he took flight and left him vision, soaring away to find his prey.

Darion hadn't called me yet, which made me worry he was going to break up with me or worse call someone to take my dragon away._ I really need to name him, _I thought. _I wish he would just tell me, so I wasn't in the dark wondering._

Time like this, I thought I was psychic, because at that moment my cell rang and it was Darion calling.

"Hey..," I answered.

"Hi, Alyson. I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you what I've decided to do, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," I held my breath.

"I'm going to stay."

"What," I breathed out and smiled with disbelief.

"I'm going to suck it up and stay. I love you, Alyson and I don't want to let you go because of this."

"Oh, Darion... I can't tell you how happy I am," a tear slide down my cheek.

He chuckled," So when do I get to meet him...again?"

I laughed," Today if you want."

"I'm already on my way."


	6. Chapter 6

I ran all the ay home after explaining to my dragon that Darion was coming to see him. He didn't seem as excited as I was, but I didn't mind. I saw he coming up the road to my house and I sprinted down to meet him. I jumped on him and we both fell to the ground; I kissed him before he could say anything. At first he was very confused but he didn't resist, he kissed me back and it was amazing. I stood up and he stayed on the ground grinning up at me.

"What?," I blushed.

"We haven't done that in such a long time..."

"Whose fault is that?," I raised an eyebrow.

"Fair enough," he hopped up and hugged me. I closed my eyes and embraced him tightly, I had missed him so much.

As we walked back to the special clearing, I told Darion everything I knew about my dragon, "I think he is a boy and he is very big now! He has probably doubled in size since you last saw him. He can read my mind and I can read his. I'm not sure if he can read your mind, he hasn't been around anyone since we figured it out."

"He can read minds!," Darion was amazed.

"Yes he can, he is very clever," I grinned cockily. When we reached the clearing I closed my eyes and called to him, he gave a vague response. "He'll be here soon...ish."

"Soonish?"

"Well he's eating a fox, who knows how long it will take him?!"

"Eating a fox?!"

"Yeah, he's gotten very hungry lately, I think he is in a growth spurt and it'll pass on soon enough."

"How do you know he's eating a fox!?," Darion was intrigued.

"We send each other pictures in our minds. I just sent him a picture of me standing in the clearing to tell him I'm waiting for him, he sent me a picture of him eating a fox."

"Is he going to do that to me?"

"I'm not sure..." Darion looked really nervous, more than the first time he had to meet my parents. "Hey, I put my hand on his shoulder," if you're not up to this today, we can-"

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in."

"I know, I did it all by myself," I wished I hadn't said the words as soon as they passed my lips.

Darion turned to me," Alyson, I'm so sorry. I wish I was a braver man to have stayed with you. Can you forgive me? I will never leave again."

"I forgive you. And you better not," I kissed him lightly and rested my head on his shoulder.

"So... a boy?," Darion asked.

"I think... I hope. I can't tell and I don't know how to ask. I tried to look but he** really** didn't like it... that wasn't a great day."

"Any names that you like?"

"I do have a few but... I don't know. I've never had a pet that could talk to me, well... except for my cat Sushi. She would meow every time I sais the word sushi, which is how she got her name. But with him, I don't know; what if he doesn't like the name I pick? What if he already has a name? It's all so new and I am completely clueless."

Darion didn't answer, I looked up to him and he was looking a the sky with his mouth open and eyes bulging at the white animal descending to the ground. "Remember," I whisper to him," Calm thoughts."

My baby boy landed and raced to me, I stood up and ran to embrace him. He tackled me to the ground and snorted with triumph. I coughed at the ring of smoke in my face and rubbed his hard scales. "Ahhh," I shimmed out form under him," You dripping with water!" I saw an image of his splashing in the river to rise off the blood of the fox..." Ohh, a bath."

He squealed out a laugh which deepened into a roar and we both were got off guard. "What was that," I was shocked. I sounded like when a boy's voice crack with they hit puberty. " Are you already hitting puberty?" _Seriously! Already!_

The dragon seemed pleased with himself and I laughed, turning to Darion," Come on." I set the image of Darion to my dragon, the first time he meet Darion in the hallway and all my other memories of him. My dragon knew about Darion I talked about him constantly. My dragon was very apprehensive to meeting Darion, the first time Darion had tried to strike him.

"Darion, keep her hand out and welcoming, like when you see a dog you want to pet. Be nice," the last part was for my dragon but it worked for both of them.

Darion got on one knee and held out his hand for the dragon to sniff, which he did carefully. I sent encouraging thoughts and motivations until he finally licked Darion's hand. Darion let out a sigh of relief and a snort of disbelief, he then stroked behind his neck: his favorite spot which earned Darion a purr of delight.

"Oh god...this is...this is amazing," Darion turned to me with happiness all over his face. I smiled, _My boys are getting along! I remember the first time I touched the dragon. That hurt! Wait, why didn't Darion get shocked._

I pulled Darion's hand away and looked at the palm, but there was not scratch like mine had.

"Alyson, what's wrong?"

"When I first touched him, his bit me, remember I told you," Darion nodded," and I have this mark on my palm from our contact, but...you didn't feel anything?"

"No, I didn't feel anything. What does it mean?"

"I don't know." I asked my dragon about it, but he didn't understand the question; it was hard to convey with pictures and emotions. "Can you hear him?"

"Hear what?"

"Can you talk to him? with your mind?"

"No, I don't hear or feel anything.."

"That's so weird!"

"Yeah, another mystery. We can research later on it okay?"

"Yeah, sure," but I was already lost in my thoughts.

Darion spent the whole day with us, learning about my Dragon. He was only a 5 days old but I felt like I knew him, he was my closest friend. When hunger rumbled I relayed that we were leaving and my dragon nuzzled me like a cat before taking flight for his own meal.

"I think he likes you," I told Darion as we walked home.

"Really?!"

"Yeah, mostly because he said he didn't want to kill you."

"He's so sweet."

"Well, in his defensive, you did try to kill him when you guys first met."

"Oh... right," Daron reached out and interlaced his hand with mine," I'm really happy I got to meet him, Alyson."

"I'm just happy that you like him!"

"Alyson, I love you."

"I know," I laughed and he rolled his eyes," I love you too!"

He grinned and leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips, when he began to pull away he reconsidered and grabbed me face and pulled me close deepening his kiss. _God, I love this. I missed this, I missed him. I love him so much. He is so perfect for me. He is so understanding and he cares about my safety and... he loves me. I want him... God!_ After a few more breathtaking moment of him, I pulled away," Darion..." he looked worries," Is your mom still out of town?"

He furrowed his brow," Uhmm, yeah; she comes back on Wednesday. Why?"

"Oh... well, listen. Hear me out, okay? I love you and I think it's time to... I mean I want to... URG! I can't even talk!"

"Alyson, I love you too. Are you saying that you want to... to do the nasty?," he whispered I like it was a secret.

Looking at my dorky, shy boyfriend I had to laugh," Darion, you," I couldn't stop laughing. My side started to hurt, so I controlled the urge to giggle," Darion, I want to be with you intimately. So yes... do the nasty."

He smirked," Alyson, I don't want you to think we need to or something. I don't know, but are you sure?"

"I just want to know if you want to... because if you don't then we don't have to."

In response Darion pulled me and kissed me passionately and then looked down at me," I would be honored." His voice was so clear and sincere and I could feel the blood rush to my face. "So, you want to this today?"

I looked down at myself: wearing sweats and a tie dye hoodie from the Care Bear Workshop. _I showered and shaved today, so that's okay. Last time I planned the day out, it was..._ I shuddered. "Yeah," I smiled," Yeah I want to."

He took my arm in his and we strolled down the trail and past my house to town. _This is so weird! I know what's happening, where I'm going and what I'm going to do, but I'm not scared! I'm nervous! What if I'm not good... What if I chicken out last minute... What if he likes freaky shit and I don't know-_

"Alyson? You okay? You look nervous..," Darion's voice broke my train of thought.

"Well.. I am nervous."

"Are you sure you want to do this."

"Yes, Darion. I want to."

We got to his house and went inside. I had always loved his small house, it was just one floor and the basement. So small and quiet unlike my huge, loud house with 7 people. His room was fairly small: a bed, TV and desk. I sat down on the bed so tight and without realizing I had clenched my legs shut in fear. Darion noticed my straight posture; I knew he knew I was nervous.

"Hey, do want to play some COD?," he asked gesturing towards the basement. Their basement was my favorite, it was pimped out. Large plush couch, surround sound and a flat screen TV hooked up to stereos and game systems. That was also where the guest bedroom was, I spent a lot of time napping in there while Darion was on gaming binges. The bed was so big and fluffy, like sleeping on a cloud.

"I suck at that game."

He knew it was true so he smirked," GTA?"

My eyes widened," YES!," I stood up and raced down the stairs. I love Grand Theft Auto! He hooked it up and I played," I don't see why you like it so much, it's point less; you never do the missions."

"Exactly! I can just steal cars and shoot hookers and stuff! There is no way to loose this game!"

"You only play because you're too scared to race me!"

"Bring it on!" He disconnected GTA and put in Mario Brothers and of course he won... every time. I was having so much fun trying to sabotage him, that I had forgotten why we came here in the first place. When I remembered I looked over at Darion, he was too involved in the game to notice. _He knew I was scared... he knew I was nervous. He brought me down here to calm my nerves, he probably thinks it's not even going to happen. Goddammit, you beautiful bastard. I'm about to become a half price hooker desperate for attention!_

I pushed the pause button," Heyyy!," Darion whined then turned to me," What'd you do that for?"

I pushed him down on the couch and pinned him down," Because...," I smiled cynically.

His face filled with clarity," Are you s-"

"Don't you dare ask if I'm sure! I'm sure!"

"Okay," he squeaked," I-I have to get a condom."

"Oh, okay," I sat up and he skipped upstairs in a hurry and I smiled at the thought of him actually wanting me._ I love this couch...but I'm trying to loose my virginity on it..._ I glanced to the door of the spare bedroom.

Darion bounded down the steps and stopped and caught his breath, trying to act casual. "You alright there, tiger?"

"Always," he smiled while panting.

I stood up," Come on." I opened the door to the extra room and the giant plush bed was all made up and beautiful.

"I made it just for you," Darion wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"No you didn't," I looked up at him.

"You right, my mom did it."

I laughed and he looked down at me grinning, I saw he was ready to ask me if I was sure.

"No," I held my finger up to his lips," I'm sure."


	7. Chapter 7

It had finally happened to me. The moment every girl wonders about and is so curious about, and I had finally done it. It had hurt... a lot, but it was something I would never take back. Darion was so gentle and he was definitely more nervous than me, but it was a beautiful moment nonetheless.

After that, the month passed quickly, and my white baby dragon turned to the size of a stallion! He had massive feet with talons and a long tail, he was growing so fast, I didn't know when he would stop! Darion and I had done so much research on dragons and found only a chat room.

"Ohhh! I love chat rooms! They are so fun because you can pretend to be anyone from anywhere! Let's join!," I leaned over Darion laptop.

"Why? This is probably all some bullshit anyway. Lying about everything, just going off the myths they've heard; nothing we don't already know. I mean look, the chat is called: The serious discussion on dragons". Then down at the bottom it talks about, 'only join this conversation if you can handle the truth about the ultimate beast', Ugh! I mean, come on," he shut his screen.

"It couldn't hurt!," I went to my computer and typed in the web address. "I'm joining!" I entered the chat, but it was blank," That's stupid! It's one of those chats where you can't see what's been written before you've entered."

"I told you it wouldn't help us."

"Darion, I'm surprised you don't have any knowledge on this. I mean, you are one of the biggest nerds I know!"

"Thank you," he bowed slightly," But, none of that stuff is real! I mean, on video games, dragons can kill 30 people with one slash of their claw; on lord of the rings they get as big as a fucking mountain! It's insane to know which will be true or false! It's a world of fantasy I live in."

I smiled and looked back at my screen to see that people were chatting away during my talk with Darion. "Look Darion, they're talking!"

"Oh great, the knowledge we will now learn," he rolled his eyes and stood up.

I was going to say something, but my phone rang," Hello?"

"Hey, mom wants you home. There's a storm coming and she's homing everyone." Arien was on the other line. I rolled my eyes, this was one thing we all hated about our mom, she worried too much about the weather. She had good reasons; when she was 12, her 14 year old brother was killed by a tsunami. That's one of the reasons she moved to the mountains, no killer oceans nearby.

"Arien, I'm kind of busy!"

"Yeah, I don't care. Come home or mom will have our ass for the rest of summer."

I groaned and hung up," I have to go," I put my laptop in my bag and zipped it.

"Storm thingy?," Darion was now plugging in a new game.

"Yeah. Love you," I walked to the stairs. I heard him come up behind me and wrap his arms around me waist.

"I love you, too," he whispered into my ear and kissed my cheek.

"Later gater."

"In a while, crocodile."

I sprinted home as fast as possible, once the house was in view, I headed for the protection of the trees. I had to sneak by and check on my stallion first. The rumble of the clouds wasn't a good sign, it was going to be a bad storm. I called him to me before reaching the clearing, because I knew there wouldn't be time, he was on his way there.

When I entered the small grassy space, he was standing, waiting for me when he saw me he came and nuzzled me like an overgrown cat. I hugged him back, sending thoughts of love, which he returned. I then sent images of thunder and lightening, rain and hail to warn him of what was coming. At first I felt his panic, but I reassured him that if he found a safe cave in the mountains he would be fine. I hugged him once more and he took flight to the snowy peaks in the distance for shelter.

I raced back down the trail, the loud clap of thunder in the sky warned me of it's nearing threat. I saw my house and ran inside, shutting the door behind me.

"It's about time!," I heard my brother call from the kitchen," Mom, was freaking out!"

I groaned because I knew I was in trouble.

"MOM! SHE'S HOME!," Asher bellowed while coming down the stairs with a grin on his face, he loved when I got in trouble.

"Jerk," I kicked him.

I heard her come down the stairs," ALYSON! ALYSON!," she saw me and closed her eyes. "Thank god!" The relief washed away and was replaced with her shear rage," Little girl, do you know how close I was to calling someone! I can't believe you didn't come when we called! You know how important it is we are all here when storms come! You know that!," she was raising her voice. "Sometimes you are so selfish!," she paused," Give me your phone."

"What?!"

"Give me your phone!" I handed it over and then she called up the stairs," DAN! TAKE HER COMPUTER TOO!"

"MOM! I wasn't even late! It's only been 45 minutes!"

"SHT!," she shushed me angrily," I don't want to hear your excuses. We did the same thing to Arsen when he didn't make home."

"That was so different! Arsen didn't come at all, I'm here!," I defended.

"I don't care, Alyson! I don't," she huffed.

My dad came down the stairs with flashlights and candles, for when and if the electricity goes out," Her computer's not in her room."

My mom turned to me," Where is it?!"

_It's in my bag! Don't give it away Alyson! LIE! LIE! _"I left it at Darion's when you called." _Nice._

"Well, that's not going to work. I'm not letting you go get it as an excuse to leave the house when this is over! You're grounded for a week."

"WHAT!?," I was shocked.

"No Darion. No friends. No phone. No leaving this house" she turned and marched to the kitchen.

I turned to my dad," DAD!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. You know how your mom gets with storms."

"It's literally rain, dad! It's going to rain!"

He started to walk and I followed," It's tornado season, Alyson. You know that. Even though we don't get many, the news is predicting on to touch down 2 miles south of here."

"But DAD! A week!"

"I'll see what I can do. for now, stay away from her," he started placing the candles around the living room.

"I LIVE IN AN ASYLYM! THIS IS A MADHOUSE!," I stormed upstairs and slammed my bedroom door. I wasn't mad, just trying to keep up appearances. I still had my computer and could talk to Darion, have him check on my dragon, communicate with the outside world.

My mom called up," Don't get comfy up there! We all need to be in the basement! The siren is going off!"

I threw my bag on my bed and went back down the stairs. The rest of he night was like every other storm hiding: we sat in the basement watching the weather channel and listening for all clear. No one spoke except my dad trying to calm my mother.

The next few days were bland and boring; everyone else went about their lives while I was entombed within the house. I stayed in my room most of the time whcih my mom thought was completely normal. Darion checked on the dragon and told me he was fine that he coudl tell, he can't really talk to it but he loked okay. I missed him so much. Darion told me I really had to find a name for him and I said I would have one by the time my house arest was over

I went back to the chat room to see what was happening and the conversation was alive. People were talking like crazy about Dragons and their hidden skills, _Ask about dragon growth!_

**A7Y50N: **Does anyone know how big dragons can get?

**DragonDwayne: **Dragons are beans of nature that become as massive as a house in the right settings.

**MollyGretzsla: **Depending on the species, Dwayne! Some can stay small for their entire lives.

**DraginDwayne: **Very Few.

**TheDestroyer69:** dragons r as big as there parnts.

**MollyGretzsla:** God, Michael! Learn to type! and learn your facts, dragons have genetic codes like us, but they can grow to any size.

_These people are really vicious. Maybe they know what they're saying , maybe they don't. Maybe Darion is right: Dragons are a fantasy, who knows what they can do or become. Might as well see what the "experts" know._

**A7Y50N:** Can dragons be telepathic?

**TheDestroyer69:** epic!

**KevinClaws:** Ive never heard that before.

**MollyGretzsla:** Neither have I... Dwayne?

**DragonDwayne: **No legends say that. Where did you come up with it A77Y50N?

_Shit._

**A7Y50N:** I didn't. I read it somewhere.

**MollyGretzla:** What's your name?

**A7Y50N:** Alyson.

**MollyGretzsla:** FINALLY! Another girl! THANK GOD! :D:D:D:D

**KevinClaws:** Put your estrogen away Molly.

**TheDestroyer69:** cool

**A7Y50N:** There aren't any other girls in the chat?

**MollyGretzsla:** No. A few join, but they never stay.

**A7Y50N:** How many people on this chat?

**KevinClaws:** It's open to the public, but not many people join. We have about 50 members or so, but only about 7 really active people.

_50 members worldwide! That's sad._

Slasher has logged on.

**DragonDwayne:** So you like dragons, Allyson?

**A7Y50N:** Yeah, they are so beautiful and mysterious.

**Slasher:** More like deadly and vicious!

**KevinClaws:** Dragons are gentle! I don't want to go over this again.

**Slasher:** Because you know I'm right.

**KevinClaws:** No, because there is a fight about this every time I log on!

**Slasher:** Because I'm right.

_Vicous? Deadly? Not my little man._

**A7Y50N:** Are dragons really that bad?

**Slasher:** YES! They'll kill you with one swipe!

KevinClaws has logged off.

**DwayneDragon:** No, they aren't.

**MollyGretzsla:** Get out of here Chance! You're making people leave! D:

**Slasher:** Sorry, Molly. New girl wants to hear what i have to say.

**A7Y50N:** Dragons have to be like other animals, right? Only violent if raised violent.

**Slasher:** It runs in their veins. they can't help but be blood thristy.

**TheDestroyer69:** dragons arent like that man. they are good.

**MollyGretzsla:** Chance, stop it.

_What if he's right and my little dragons is really a blood thirsty killing machine. He can't be._

**A7Y50N:** How an you tell a dragon is a boy or girl?

**TheDestroyer69:** usually by the parts, haha.

**MollyGretzsla:** Grow up Michael!

**DwayneDragon:** I would imagine by their genitalia.

Collin-Rosco logged on

**MollyGretzsla:** Collin! xD

**Collin-Rosco:** Hey guys.

**A7Y50N:** But were are they on a dragon!

**TheDestroyer69:** betwen the legs man. like all other animals.

**DwayneDragon:** Collin, where are a dragon's reporductive organs?

**Collin-Rosco:** Michael is right, they're between the legs.

**TheDestroyer69:** told ya

**MollyGretzsla:** Collin! We have a new member! Her name is Allyson AND she has some questions!

**Collin-Rosco:** Welcome. What do you want to know?

_Who they hell is this guy? Acting like he fucking knows everything. All these other people are falling to his feet!_

**A7Y50N:** Who are you?

**MollyGretzsla:** Collin made the chat room! He is the one who brought us all together!(:

**TheDestroyer69:** collin knows all the answers to dragon questions.

**Colin-Roscoe:** Stop guys, I don't.

**Slasher:** At least you know that.

**DwayneDragon:** Collin, I don't see why you let him in the chat! You should ban him from using it.

**Collin-Rosco:** If you guys have complaints, PM me. Let's leave the chat open.

**MollyGretzsla:** Alright.

**MollyGretzsla**: Hey Collin. Allyson wants to know if dragons are psychic.

**Collin-Rosco:** Where did you hear that Allyson?

**A7Y50N:** I read it.

**Collin-Rosco:** Where?

_Shit._

**A7Y50N:** I don't remember.

**Collin-Rosco:** No, they are not.

_Then what they fuck is it!_

**A7Y50N:** Can they talk?

**DwayneDragon:** Dragons are very smart, yes, but the don't have the ability to speak our language.

**TheDestroyer69:** too bad, that would be epic.

**MollyGretzsla:** That would be amazing.

_I still can't tell if it's a boy! Apparently he can't talk to me and he is growing into a house!_ I logged off the chat and shut my computer, _I'm still as clueless as ever! _I hudled under the cover and snuggled with my stuffed bear,_ How can I name him when I don't even know if it is a him!? _I thought about my dragon's beautiful white scales and deep blue eyes. Wehn it came to naming things, I always stayed basic: what does it look like, name it after that. My dragon was so white with big saucer eyes, he kind of reminded me of the moon. _Moon? Too hippy._ I opened my laptop and started looking up other ays to say moon. _Moon is spanish is Luna! Oh that's perfect! But what if he's a boy? Shit._ I scrolled: Bulan. Kuu. Nothing sounded good. _White?:_ Blanco. Bodas. Bianco. Nothing. _He is so white it reminds me of his stone. Stone?_: Steinn. Cloch. Piedra. Kamen. _Kamen? I like that: Kamen. Luna for a girl, Kamen for a boy. Perfect._


	8. Chapter 8

The next day I video chatted with Darion about my Dragon names, he like them but thought White Lightning was a better choice.

"It's really hard to find him sometimes, yesterday I waited for 2 hours before he came to the clearing," Darion complained.

"I'm sorry. I really am, but there isn't much I can do!"

"I know," he ran his fingers through his hair," this is really messing with my gaming! I'm totally off focus!"

I chuckled," I'm sorry. It means a lot that you're doing this."

"So, have you found anything new on that chat?"

I rolled my eyes," Not really. Apparently there is now way to find his gender and dragon's aren't telepathic... I don't know."

"Well, how much can they know? They are just internet nerds on dragons, they've never actually seen one."

"I know, I just wish we could get some answers."

"Yeah, I'm going to check on White Lightning now, I'll message you later."

"That is not his name!"

"It is now," he smirked and his video faded away.

I went back to the chat and logged on, there was no activity, no one else was on. I was ready to exit from the screen when everyone started joining: Molly, Dwayne, Michael, Kevin, and Collin one by one.

**MollyGretzsla:** Hey girl!

**A77Y50N: **Hey.

I was slightly relieved that they had logged on. Talking to Darion about my dragon had run dry, he had no new theories; talking to some new ears might give me more answers that nothing at all.

**MollyGretzlsa:** I saw you logged on and thought I'd come talk to you. (;

**A7Y50N:** You saw that I logged on?

**MollyGretzsla:** Yeah, Dwayne made an DragonChatApp so we can all see when everyone is on or not. Really useful, you should download it! Totally free at the App store.

**A7Y50N:** Don't have my phone, I'm grounded.

**TheDestroyer69:** Tht sucks man

**KevinClaws:** Since I never leave the house, my mom can't ground me. Haha

**DragonDwayne: **Whenever I'm in trouble, my mom makes me go to church with her... it's truly awful.

**MollyGretzsla:** I don't get in trouble, I'm a good girl.(:

**TheDestroyer69:** no one believes tht molly.

**MollyGretzsla:** Shut up Michael. What about you Collin?

_Oh god, Molly really has the hots for Collin. A guy she had most likely never met before...ew._

**Collin-Rosco:** I'm 18 and moved out.

**TheDestroyer69:** Cnt wait for my bday.

**A7Y50N: **Have any of you ever met? you know, each other... in person?

**KevinClaw:** No, but we're all friends on social media and we Skype sometimes.

**MollyGretzsla:** Oh Alyson, what your last name!? I want to add you!

**A7Y50N: ** Cineal

**Collin-Rosco:** Where do you live?

**A7Y50N:** The US

**DragonDwayne:** We all live in the US, which state?

**A7Y50N:** Montana

**TheDestroyer69:** country grl?

**A7Y50N:** No, I'm not country. I live in the mountains.

**KevinClaws:** Mountain girl?

**A7Y50N:** sure...whatever that means.

**MollyGretzsla:** I LOVE your last name. SO PRETTY! :D I friended you!

**A7Y50N:** Thanks, it's Irish.

**MollyGretzsla:** I wish I had a pretty heritage!

_UGG! I'm so done with this small talk getting to know you! I want Info! Get them back on the subject of Dragons!_

**A7Y50N:** If you had a dragon, what would you name it?

**DwayneDragon:** Viserion, after Game of Thrones!

**TheDestroyer69:** smthing cool like flame or thorn

**MollyGretzsla:** Something elegant like Renee!

**KevinClaws:** You would name your dragon a human name?

**MollyGretzsla:** Why not? She deserves a good name.

**KevinClaws:** for me it would be Paarax from Skyrim!

**DwayneDragon:** There is no dragon named Paarax on Skyrim!

**KevinClaws:** I shortened Paarthunax.

**DwayneDragon:** Oh, Nice.

**MollyGretzsla:** What about you Collin?

**Collin-Rosco:** I don't know.

**TheDestroyer69:** cum on dude. u hav to hav one.

**Collin-Rosco:** I like the name Rosco, that's why its my username.

**MollyGretzsla:** OHHHHH I've always been curious about that!

**KevinClaws:** What about you Alyson? What would you name a Dragon.

**A7Y50N:** Depends on color and gender. White male: Kamen, White Female: Luna

**DwayneDragon:** Why white? White is the rarest color of dragon.

_They are?_

**A7Y50N:** I don't know. I just like white dragons. White is the rarest?

**Collin-Rosco:** Yes, white is very uncommon. Dragons are usually bright vibrant colors.

**MollyGretzsla:** I would want my dragon to be purple!

_Shut up Molly!_

**A7Y50N: **Do dragons have any powers?

**KevinClaws:** They can breath fire.

**TheDestroyer69:** u cn ride them.

**A7Y50N:** You can!?

**TheDestroyer69:** yea, wen they r old enough to ride, u get on the bck and they fly with u on them.

_I can ride him! Oh my god! That will be amazing!_

**A7Y50N:** how old?

**Collin-Rosco:** Around 2-3 months is maturity.

_Oh shit! This is amazing! I can ride him! Holy Shit!_

**MollyGretzsla:** That would be amazing to ride on a dragon...

**KevinClaws:** I wish.

**DwayneDragon:** A Dragon and a rider are so magestic.

**A7Y50N:** Rider?

**MollyGretzsla:** That's what the person who has a dragon is called.

_I guess that makes me a Rider. Holy shit: I'm a rider_

**A7Y50N:** Does a rider have any powers?

**Collin-Rosco:** No.

**A7Y50N:** I still think that dragons have the power to read minds.

**KevinClaws:** I've never heard of that except in fairytales.

**A7Y50N:** Dragons ARE fairytales.

**KevinClaws:** Touche.

**MollyGretzsla:** Someone is reading too much Eragon!

A7Y50N: Eragon?

**MollyGretzsla:** It's a book series.

**Collin-Rosco:** A very good book series.

**DwayneDragon:** It's about a boy, Eragon, who finds a Dragon and raises it in private. The dragon and him communicate through the mind, like how you say. He names her Shapphira and they fight the evil King Gallobrix.

**TheDestroyer69:** left out a lot of deats man

**DwayneDragon:** there is a lot more to the series, but that is the main plotline.

**A7Y50N:** Sounds like a good read.

**MollyGretzsla:** I can't believe you haven't read it yet!

**Collin-Rosco:** One of the best.

**A7Y50N:** Sooo... let me get this straight. Dragons have riders who ride them and they breath fire AND in a book there is mention of a telepathic connection

**KevinClaws:** Yeah, that sums it all up

**DwayneDragon:** the book isn't real though, you can't base knowledge on that.

**A7Y50N:** What do you base you knowledge on Dwayne? Facts?

**DwayneDragon:** That's not what I meant!

**TheDestroyer69:** aw shit, new girl snapped.

**MollyGretzsla:** Shut up Michael!

**Collin-Rosco:** If I had to base my knowledge of dragons on any specific book, it wouldn't be Eragon.

**A7Y50N:** Thanks for your opinion Collin.

**MollyGretzsla:** You don't have to get nasty.

**A7Y50N:** I do when everyone is attacking for my belief.

**TheDestroyer69:** aw shit, she snapped again.

**KevinClaws:** Alyson is right. We all have deferent theories.

**MollyGretzsla:** She still shouldn't get all defensive over nothing.

_This is like 3rd grade all over! _I was ready to log off when my private message started to blink. _Who messaged me?_ _Collin!_

**So, why do you like Dragons?**

_Why do I like dragons? What a stupid question!_

**That's a stupid question.**

**Is it really?**

**I like dragons because I believe that they're amazing.**

**Why do you think that?**

_What is this 20 questions?!_

**I don't know! They just are! Why didn't you just ask me in the chat?**

**I wanted to hear a real answer, not some stupid answer you would say to not sound crazy like everyone else. I guess it didn't work.**

**That is my real answer.**

**Sure it is.**

_Who the hell is this guy?! Why do you even care!_

**Why do YOU like dragons?!**

**The are the ultimate animal. They can be a ferocious beast ready to maul you one moment and then the next be saving an innocent person from a fire.**

**Where do you read that?**

**I didn't. That's my opinion.**

**And yours is better than mine because...?**

**Mine's honest.**

**How can opinion be honest!?**

**You know what I mean...**

_No way in hell I tell the truth. You are just going to have to be disappointed, dude. Not happening._ I was the middle of my response when there was loud screech from outside my window. I jumped and ran to see that my dragon was floating beside my window._ Oh my god! _I opened the window and he flew in, tackling me to the floor.

He was wiggling with happiness and his joy flooded my mind; I had to block it out it was so overwhelming.

"I missed you too!," I wrapped my arms around his large scaly body.

_"Happy!"_

I jolted from the random ring in my head. _What the hell was that!? _I turned to his piercing blue eyes, "Was that you?!"

_"You!"_

"Oh... Holy... God! You can.. you are saying words! Like real human words!"

_"Happy!"_

"You are talking! That is you!"

_"You!," _the voice rang in my head.

"This is incredible! Oh god! Uhm... do you now any other words? Anything else?"

_"Dragon!"_

"So.. you know a few simple words, okay... uhm... oh god, this is so amazing! I can't barely think. Uhm... OH! Are you a boy?" In response, he tilted his head," Are you male? Female? Boy? Girl? Both?!"

_"You!"_

"Me?... A girl?!," I jumped up excitedly.

"_Happy Dragon_!" she cheered and did a tiny spin.

"Holy Shit! You're a girl! I've been calling you a boy this whole time!," I slapped my head with my palm.

"_Happy!_," the triumphant squeak echoed in my head.

I couldn't help but smile, _This is insane! My dragon can talk! Holy...GOD! _I ran back to my computer to message Darion and saw that Collin was still waiting for my response.

**I like dragons because they are the greatest mystery!**

I logged out and messaged Darion; he almost didn't believe me. I convinced him that I wasn't lying and that my dragon told me it was a girl.

"So White Lightning is a girl?"

"That is not her name!"

"What is her name then?"

"I have to run it by her, but I want to name her Luna."

"Run it by her?"

"Well she has a chose in her own name, she's smart enough. Hey, when you went to check on her did he ever talk to you?"

"Uhm... no, she never did."

"Okay, well I'm going to go; I have a dragon to talk to," I giggled giddily and hung up the phone. I turned to my large white dragon who had grown since our last encounter a few days before. She now took up most of my room, _how did she ever fit through my window? _I reached out out to her mentally and she turned to me with her big bright eyes.

"_Happy?,"_ she asked me.

"I'm very happy!," I spoke aloud to her.

"_Happy dragon!,"_ she hummed.

"Do you have a name?," I asked. She tilted her head like she had earlier," My name is Alyson, do you have a name?"

"_Aaaaa-... All-... Alasin. Alysin. Alyson. Alyson_!"

_Oh my god! That's my name! That's a new word! _"YES! YES! THAT'S ME! THAT'S MY NAME!," I jumped up and down," Do you have one?"

"_Alyson! Happy Alyson!,"_ she sang.

"I have a name for you...," I stroked her scales. "I'm going to call you Luna," she purred and closed her eyes. "Do you like it?"

"_Happy,"_ she murmured.


	9. Chapter 9

That night Luna slept in my room, it was amazing to be able to see her and now I could talk to her; the only bad thing was that she was probably the loudest snorer on the entire planet. When I woke her up to tell her she had to go back to the woods before anyone saw her, she got hysterical and started knocking things over.

"Luna! Luna, what's wrong?," I whispered while running to catch my things from breaking.

"_NO! NO!,"_ She bellowed in my head at her highest intensity," _NO HAPPY DRAGON! NO ALYSON! NO!"_ She whipped around and hit me with her tail sending me to the floor. My head was throbbing and stars filled my vision, but I noticed that her yelling had stopped. She had stopped everything and was now huddled in the corner. I crawled over to her, ignoring the pain in my brain and sat next to her.

"What happened, Luna?"

"_No happy dragon_."

"I can see that," I looked around my room. There was broken glass, my nightstand was on the ground and there were deep long scratches in the wood. "Why are you so unhappy?"

"_No Alyson."_

"No Alyson? Like, you missed me?," I asked and she lifted her head to look at me.

"_Misss-... Missssed you_."

"Awww, Luna. I missed you too. I was stuck here, they wouldn't let me leave. I'll be able to come see you soon though," I reassured her. I sent her my emotions of love and loneliness.

"_No Alyson. No happy dragon."_

"Luna, I'll come see you later okay? I promise I will... but now you have to go before someone sees you!," I pushed her to the window.

"_Go? Go now?"_

"Yes now, I'll come out later, okay?"

"_Alyson go_?"

"Yes. Yes. Alyson go," I convinced her to leave. She flew out into the crisp morning, gliding over the wind and I couldn't help but think that someday soon I could be out there with her.

I decided to take the bathroom before the four babies woke up and started their daily squabble. The shower felt amazing but all I could think about was Luna; _what happens when I go off to college? Will I even go to college now? When she gets bigger where will she stay? Am I going to live in the mountains forever? Will Darion leave to go to college? He can't stay, he needs to go. He needs a life. What happens when he leaves? Who can I talk to about Luna?_

The questions kept piling up, I was so lost in thought I forgot where I was until I heard the pounding on the door.

"GET OUT! WE ALL NEED TO SHOWER!"

"THERE BETTER BE HOT WATER LEFT, ALYSON!"

"HURRY UP, I HAVE TO PEE!"

_Fucking brothers_, I rolled my eyes and got dressed. I went downstairs and saw my mother was leaving for work.

"Bye, Alyson," she brushed past me. I didn't say anything, I never did when I was angry with her, it was childish, but I always got results. "When is this going to stop? Are you still mad about being grounded!?"

I turned to face her and crossed my arms.

"I'm sick of this! You need to grow up and deal with it," she turned to leave.

"How can I grow up when you treat me as a child?! Adults don't get grounded, mom. How am I supposed to go off to college next fall when I'm not even allowed to stay out past 10? You can treat me like a child when you want to and then expect me to be an adult when it suites you!"

My moms jaw dropped," Don't you dare act like we don't do things for you! We give you everything you want but you still don't seem grateful! You have been so secretive and reluctant towards us... we're all worried!"

"Worried about what!? That I'm doing drugs? Having sex? Drinking?!"

"Well are you!?," she crossed her arms.

"NO! IM NOT! You just need to get over the fact that I'm not telling you everything that's happening in my life! I'm not a kid and I have my own secrets!"

"Are you pregnant? Is this a hormonal imbalance?"

"WHHT?! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT FROM THIS CONVERSATION!," I was shouting.

"You're the one who brought up sex and don't you raise your voice!," she checked her watch," Now I'm late. You know what? Do whatever you want! Since you're so grown up, fine!" She tossed my phone on the couch," I'm leaving," she then turned and slammed the door behind her.

_How can she even be mad!? She just accused me of being pregnant! _I grabbed my phone and stormed upstairs.

"Big fight, huh?," Ajax said walking down the hall drying his hair.

"Shut up," I went into my room and locked the door.

I put my pone on the charger and got online, it was only 7:12 so I knew that Darion was passed out in front of his game. I got on the chat but the only person on was Slasher.

**Slasher:** you're that new chick.

**A7Y50N:** Yup.

**Slasher:** you are pro dragon right?

**A7Y50N: **Yup.

**Slasher:** figures

**A7Y50N:** Why do you hate them?

**Slasher:** they are monsters!

**A7Y50N:** How can you say that? How are you so morbid about them?

**Slasher:** how can you say they are magical happy scaly creatures that love the world and want peace on earth?

**A7Y50N**: I never said that. I just don't think they are evil. I think that they are just like us, they have thoughts and feelings. They are just misunderstood.

**Slasher:** you're the only one. no one else thinks they have feelings or thoughts. they just have raw emotion that they show with brute force.

**A7Y50N:** Why are you in this chat of you hate dragons.

**Slasher:** because all these people do is dream about dragons all day. literally sometimes they chat on here for days on end! dragons aren't good! they are beasts who can kill you! they shouldn't be taken lightly like a fairytale. this is serious and so it the threat brought by them

**A7Y50N:** How can you say that? Have you ever met a dragon?

**Slasher:** have you?

_Shit._

**A7Y50N:** No. But I wish we could, just so I could prove you wrong,

**Slasher:** ditto.

Collin-Rosco has logged on.

**A7Y50N:** I just don't see how you can only see the faults... if we did that for everything the world would be miserable. You have to see he optimistic side every now and then.

**Slasher**: the thing with all you dragon lovers is that you are delusional! do you really think a beast the size of a mountain weighing over 1,000 pounds is just a delicate loving puppy! i see the reality of it that it is a ferocious carnivore who only has the intention to kill.

**Collin-Rosco:** That's because you don't understand dragons.

**Slasher:** and I suppose you do Collin?

**Collin-Rosco:** Yeah, I do.

MollyGretzsla has logged on.

KevinClaws has logged on.

DwayneDragon has logged on.

Slasher has logged off.

**MollyGretzsla:** Thank god he left! What a downer! What was he saying?

**KevinClaws:** Probably something along the lines of: dragons suck, wah wah wah, blah blah blah.

TheDestroyer69 logged on.

**DwayneDragon:** That sounds accurate. Haha.

**Molly Gretzsla:** Are you guys excited?

**Collin-Rosco:** I'm ready

**KevinClaws**: Been waiting all month.

**A7Y50N:** What? What's happening?

**MollyGretzsla:** Oh, I forgot about our newbie!

**TheDestroyer69:** its the monthly chat

**DwayneDragon:** Once a month or every 2 months, whenever we can. We video chat as a group to discuss our personal lives. No dragon talk, just friends.

**A7Y50N:** Oh, sounds fun.

**KevinClaws:** What's you Skype name, Alyson?

**A7Y50N:** Xactlyally.

**MollyGretzsla:** Cute! Okay, so I'm logged on and waiting.

_It's now! I look like a mess, I haven't even brushed my hair! I can't let this be my first impression!_

**KevinClaws:** Standing by.

**TheDestroyer69:** all good

**Collin-Rosco:** Ready.

**DwayneDragon:** Let's go!

I ran to my mirror and started brushing my thin blonde hair but it's uneven waves made it look atrocious. I heard the pings of messages from the chat and ran to see.

**MollyGretzsla:** Alyson! Accept the request and log on!

**MollyGretzsla:** Alyson!

**MollyGretzsla:** We started...

I logged on to Skype and accepted the 5 new friend requests; instantly I weas being called by the group. I answered but only with audio, I didn't want them to see me just yet. 6 squares popped up on my screen, the big one at the bottom was black: my square.

"Alyson? Are you there?," I saw a girl in the upper right box ask. She had short reddish brown hair and thick glasses with purple frames. Her pale skin had dark freckles across her face but she had remarkable green eyes. _Molly? _ She looked younger than me, most likely 15 or 16 but still she had a very slender pretty face.

"Yeah I'm here," I answered and went back to putting on eyeliner.

"I can't see you!," She squinted into her camera.

"Sometimes my camera takes a few minutes," I lied.

"Well, in case you didn't guess: I'm Molly!," she waved.

"I figured," I smiled.

"I'm Kevin," the bottom right box announced. Kevin was extremely scrawny and had light blonde hair spiked into a Mohawk with blue eyes. He spoke with a slight slur, I was guessing due to his braces. His face was riddled with acne and his nose was way out of proportion to his face, it was huge! Kevin looked around 16 year old.

"Nice to finally see you Kevin."

"Wish I could say the same," he replied.

"I'm Dwayne," said the upper left square. Dwayne was very overweight and looked bald, but the I saw it was just a buzz cut. He has thick glassed on too with thin wiry frames, yet his eyes were still scrunched up and squinting on his face. He had a small goatee growing off his chin, making him look in his early to mid 20's.

"Hey Dwayne!"

"A pleasure to hear your voice," he bowed his head slightly.

"Hey, I'm Mike," the middle square nodded. _Mike? Who is mike?_ Mike was the only one who wasn't Caucasian he was Black, but I still had no idea who he was.

"Mike?," I questioned out loud while doing some shadowing with my blush.

"The Destroyer 69 is my name online," he spoke in a deep soft tone. _Ohhhhh, that's him. Right, Molly always called him Michael. _Michael had a small mustache and beard on his skinny narrow face. It looked nice along with his short dreads that framed his face, he looked like he was at least 19, but I didn't think he was due to his Earl Sweatshirt tee on.

"Oh, hey Mike!"

"And last but not least: Collin," Molly announced from the top right. I looked to the bottom left square and saw a boy around 17 smiling. At first look, he was flawless: he has dark brown hair with deep brown eyes and when he smiled I saw that he had dimples! He has a strong jawline and toned muscles. _I can see why Molly has a crush! DAMN!_

Darion and I loved each other but I still caught him looking at other girls who were skinner and prettier than me and I still looked at tumblr boys and drooled. But Collin was breath taking, I wasn't surprised on how the other looked: I had imagined a bunch of nerdy boys on the internet, but Collin shocked me.

"Still can't see you Alyson," he leaned into his camera lens.

I was still gawking before I could think of a response," Oh, yeah. Right, I'm w-working on it," I put on some lip gloss. I did a once over in the mirror before turning on my camera.

"Hey guys," I waved.

Michael and Kevin waved back not caring at all that I was visible but Molly and Dwayne stared with wide eyes; Molly probably wasn't expecting to be the prettiest girl and Dwayne must have expected me to be hideous. Collin just smiled and then waved.

"So, lets get started!," Molly spoke eagerly. "What's new?"

"I got the new GTA5 game!," Michael said.

"Seriously! I'm jealous! I love GTA!," I told him

"Really? Yeah, I stayed in line for like 9 hours to get a copy, it's been pretty good so far but yeah."

"I've been playing GTA3 for like a year! I need to get 5."

"It's pretty good."

"I almost told my crush how I feel about him, but I chickened out last minute..," Kevin changed the topic and dropped his head in shame.

_Him? Kevin is gay?_

"Kevin, I told you, you have to do it! Before graduation!," Molly urged.

"I can't I'm too embarrassed! What if he shoots me down!"

"Then you will know! Not knowing is the worst, I still can barely look at my crush..." Molly admitted.

"The key is confidence," Dwayne said. "You have to just swallow the fear and power through the fear."

"Easy for you to say! You don't have a crush!"

Dwayne chuckled," Well... things change."

"You guys are just being babies! When I like a girl, I just ask her what she doing later. Then we chill and if I still like her, I let her know but if not I just never hit her up again," Michael said.

"But you're attractive, Mike!," Kevin whined," I'm an ugly, lanky, fag with a cucumber on my nose!"

"Don't say that!," I was shocked by Kevin's words. " You are not! You are a nice guy and if you were straight and I was single, I would be hitting on you right now!"

"Really?," He lifted his head.

"You have a boyfriend?," Dwayne asked.

"Or are you a lesbian?," Michael leaned in.

I chuckled," Yes, I would, Kevin. And yes, I have a boyfriend. No, I am not a lesbian."

Dwayne and Michael both seemed disappointed by the news.

"Collin, how is your love life?," Molly asked while twirling her hair and biting her lip slightly. _Not subtle at all, Molly!_

He smirked," No one in my love life. Alone and surviving."

"Am I the only one who is dating?," I asked.

"Naw," Michael shook his head," I've got a girl."

"Really?," Molly asked.

"Yeah, she's cool and she likes fairies. You know, the small people with wings so I told about my love for dragons and she understood it all."

"That's awesome," Kevin told him.

"Yeah, It was really cool."

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I have to get going," I interrupted.

"Really? Why?," Molly whined.

"I have errands to run," I lied. _I need to go see Luna!_

"Wait," she called," What's your number?"

I typed it into the chat," There you go, I'll talk to you guys later." They waved goodbye and I ended the call. I hopped out of bed, then I heard my phone vibrate; I got a text from a new number.

**Hey it's Molly! I need to talk to you!**

_It can wait,_ I thought and sprinted out of the house to freedom.


	10. Chapter 10

Luna was so happy to see me that I couldn't even feel my own emotions when I saw her; all I could feel was her. It was indescribable being able to talk with her and understand what she was feeling with more than just pictures. It was remarkable how fast she was learning, by the end of the day she spoke in full sentences!

That night I went home and collapsed on my bed, too giddy from the day to sleep. I flipped over and checked my phone: Molly had texted me a few more times along with Dwayne, Kevin and Collin.

**Hey Molly.**

**You messaged me back! Thank god! I wanted to talk to you about something that I couldn't say in front of the boys.**

**Okay, spill it.**

**We're friends right?**

_What? Friends?_

**Yeah. Sure, we're friends.**

**Okay, because I don't have many friends so I was hoping I could tell you.**

**Just tell me Molly!**

**I have a crush on Collin!(3**

_Wow! Shocker! Never would have guessed! Totally caught off guard,_ I thought sarcastically.

**So tell him.**

**I can't! What if he doesn't like me! What if he thinks I'm gross! Alyson, I really like him!**

**He seems like a sweet guy, Molly. Tell him, he wouldn't be mean.**

**What would I say?**

**Hey Collin... I like you.**

**That's stupid!**

**I don't know! Then don't say anything.**

** I can't! My feelings are bubbling over! Will you tell him for me?! **

**Me?! I barely know him!**

**PLEASE ALYSON! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!**

_Uggg! This is why I'm happy to be the youngest!_

**_Fine. I'll tell him.._**

**_THANK YOU THANK YOU._**

_I'm going to regret being in the middle of this. _Collin had texted me earlier telling me that it was his number.

**Hey Collin.**

**Hey.**

_What do I say?!_

**Molly likes you.**

_Wow that was horrible! Literally anything other way would have been better_, I mentally hit myself.

**Yeah, I know.**

**You do?**

**Haha, yeah she's not exactly secretive about it. It's obvious.**

**Haha, yeah she's not subtle. How come you haven't said anything to her?**

**What do I say to her? "Oh, yeah I know you like me but I'm 18 and you're 15 so it's never going to happen. You're like a little sister." That is so corny and over used, I hate it.**

**Yeah, maybe not that haha.**

**I've known for awhile, but I still don't know how to tell her..**

**She just asked me to tell you, I wasn't just telling you to go behind her back.**

**Oh, yeah of course. I didn't think that, I know you wouldn't do that.**

**How do you know what I would do and what I wouldn't?**

**I am an excellent judge in character.**

**Haha, I'm sure.**

**I am, ask anyone!**

While I was texting Collin, Molly was sending me message after message asking how it was going and what I was saying.

**Molly is really up my ass about talking to you.**

**What's she saying?**

**"What did he say? What did you say? Does he like me? How is it going?" I feel bad knowing that you don't like her like that.**

**Either way it's a bad situation. Either I break her young heart or I'm a disgusting pervert.**

**Yeah, those are the only options and I'm leaning towards pervert, haha.**

**I don't like her like that and there is nothing to day to make it easier. Sorry but pervert is off the option list.**

**Yeah, but a girls first heartbreak is something that sticks forever. Be nice.**

**What did yours say to you?**

**He said that I was too uptight and needed to be more easy going. That I should sleep with him or I would be a prude forever.**

**Did you?**

**No! Haha, No, I didn't. I went home and lived my prude life. Now he has a baby on the way and works and the strip mall.**

**Good choice.**

**Never doubted it for a second.**

**I'm going to tell her...**

**Good luck.**

I smiled and texted Darion.

**Hey! I'm officially off house arrest! Maybe tomorrow we can finally hang out!**

He didn't text me back, _he's probably on a gaming binge._

**I think I'm making things worse!** Collin texted me.

**How?**

**I told her that was special!**

**Oh... that's not good! **

**I know! I fucked up!**

**Jus tell you that you aren't looking for a relationship!**

**That's such a cliché! **

**But it's true...**

**Girls are so frustrating!**

**Tell me about it...**

**I think I got the message across...**

**What did you say?**

**I told her that she was a really sweet girl and I could never be with her in that way.**

**Okay, that sounds reasonable.**

**She isn't texting back..**

**Well, can you blame her? You broke her heart!**

**Shit! There is no winning!**

**Nope, not with girls.**

I texted Molly to see how she was taking the news. **Hey Molly...**

**He hates me!**

**No he doesn't.**

**Yeah right! He thinks I'm a baby! I told you! I told you he wouldn't like me!**

**Molly, you can't be too hard on yourself maybe you should start small.**

**What does that even mean?!**

**It means date someone you've met face to face! Date someone in your town and our own age.**

She never texted back_, she must be really pissed. _I didn't dwell on Collin and Molly's problem because it wasn't mine! I felt like my life was going good and there was no way I was screwing it up. I went to bed and dreamed about riding on Luna over the ocean, it was blissful.

Luna kept growing each day she seemed bigger in some way: her claws, her scales, her eyes. I was tempted a few times to ask to ride her but I couldn't, what if she wasn't ready? What if I'm not ready? I saw less and less of Darion, he was busy with his college scholarships he said. I understood and I didn't want to keep him from it so I left him alone and spent most of time with Luna.

Whenever I got cell service I was either talking to Kevin or Collin. Kevin was the best gay friend ever and I had always wanted one! I told him everything... well almost everything. Collin and I talked a lot too, about almost everything. I found out that he lived a few hours away and we joked about meeting up, but I knew it would never fall through. Molly still was refusing to speak to any of us, no one from the chat knew why she was shutting them out.

It had almost been a week since I saw Darion and I was fed up with it so I decided to surprise him and walked over to his house. I knocked on the door, but no one answered, there was music on so he probably just didn't hear.

I opened the door and walked right in," Darion?" The music stopped and I walked towards his door," Darion are you here?"

"Yes!," he said through the door," We're in here!"

_We're? Who else is here?_

I opened the door to see Collin and some girl sitting on the floor of his room surrounded by papers and books. They weren't touching or anything but I had never seen this girl before in my life. She was a super blonde, defiantly from a bottle with pink streaks and hazel eyes. She had piercing everywhere: her septum, her lips and her nose. She had a figure I would kill for: big breasts, tiny waist and nice hips,; it was impossible not to notice with her low cut top, he boobs were practically falling out!

"Oh... Hello," I said in a haze.

"Alyson," Darion stood up," This is Gwen. Gwen this is my girlfriend: Alyson."

"Hello," she stood up and reached a hand out to me, I shook it but drew back quickly. " I've heard so much about you," she smiled.

"Oh, really?," I turned to Darion.

He hurried up to explain before I raged out," Alyson, she is my advisor... from the college. Gwen is a finical aid assistant who was helping me with my scholarships."

"Oh," it was the only thing I could say. _How come you haven't told me about her? What the hell is she doing here? Am I jealous? HELL YEAH I AM! Why is she a secret?_

"Oh shit," she proclaimed," It's 4! I'm late! I'll catch you later Darry. Nice to meet you Alyson," she touched my shoulder as she walked by and out the front door.

"Alyson, don't freak out!"

"Darry?!"

"She is just a counselor!"

"A counselor who calls you Darry?"

"It's just a nickname!"

"How come you haven't mentioned her to me... Darry?!"

"There was nothing to mention! She was helping with my scholarships: That's it!

"Why couldn't I help you with scholarships?"

"No offense, Alyson but she knows how to make it all look good and sound good so I can get the money. She knows all the bullshit these people want to hear!"

"No offense taken," I said sarcastically and crossed my arms.

"Alyson, this is why I didn't tell you. I knew you would blow it our of proportion!," he sat on the edge of his bed.

"I wouldn't be if you would have just told me! It makes you looks suspicious Darion! Running around behind my back with some college girl!"

"What? There is no running! There is nothing! She is just a financial assistant."

"I thought she was a counselor!," I spat.

"She's both!"

"Why did you hide it then?! If she's just some girl, why didn't you tell me!?" I was shouting now.

"Because it meant nothing! She is nothing! Just a girl, she didn't even mean enough to mention," Darion yelled back. He took a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "Alyson, I love you. This should not be this big of a thing. Don't you trust me? Do you not want me to get money for college?!"

"Of course I do," I sat on his desk chair," I want you to get financial aid... It's her I don't trust... she's too pretty," I spoke with venom in my voice.

He chuckled," I didn't notice... because I have the most beautiful girl in the world."

I blushed but my smile faded,"... It's just... I never see you."

"I know... I'm sorry," he crouched down to look me in the eyes. " We'll do something tomorrow, okay?"

I sighed," Yeah sure."

"Great," he smiled and kissed me. He saw that I was still loathing the idea of him spending so much time with Gwen. " Don't worry. I love you Alyson, there is nothing happening."

"I love you too," I mumbled. " What are you doing right now?"

"Still working on these scholarships, 3 are due tomorrow," he looked down at the sea of papers covering his floor.

I smirked," Procrastinator," I stood up," I'll leave you to it then."

"Are you sure? You want to stay and help?," he arched an eyebrow.

"No," I chuckled," I would only distract you," I pulled him to me by the collar and planted a kiss on his lips. "Text me later," I walked out of his room and left the house.

I reached my psychic link to Luna. "_I hate today_," I told her mentally.

"_What happened? I felt your emotions go all over the place?!"_

_"It was just... a big misunderstanding I guess,"_ I walked back towards my house.

"_Darion?,"_ she always knew what was wrong.

_"Yeah... I can't believe he'll be leaving soon..."_

_"Where is he going?"_

_"College. He'll be leaving and I'll be here."_

_"Why not go with him?"_

_"I could never leave you, Luna."_

_"That makes me feel like I anchor you down form living your life the way you desire."_

_"Believe me, you're not."_

_"If you love him, why let him walk away,"_ she paused,"_ If he loves you, why would he walk away."_

A tear slide down my cheek," _People drift apart, Luna. It's a way of life."_

_"You're upset! I'm regret saying what I did."_

_"No, you shouldn't. Its better to be hurt by the truth then be happy with a lie."_

_"Wise words."_

We stayed quiet, but she stilled stayed with me, not leaving me alone.

_"How can I make you happy?"_ she asked

_"There is nothing to be done.."_

_"I think there is,"_ I could hear her confidence.

_"What? What is it!?,"_ I was intrigued.

_"I know what you want."_

_"What are talking about, Luna?"_

_"Alyson,"_ she giggled,"_ You can't hide it from me! We are connected! I admit, I was apprehensive about it too, but now I think we should try! I'm ready!"_

_"What? I don't understand..."_

_"You want to ride me,_" she whispered.

I stopped walking, _how did she know!_

"_I know because I'm in your head!"_

_"Well, how do I keep you out!"_

_"I'll never tell,"_ she giggled," _So, what do you think? Should we try it out?"_

_"I-I-I... D-do you think we should? Really?"_

_"Yes! Today is the day to fly!"_

A smile spread across my face and I began to sprint down the streets towards the mountain.

"_That's a yes I take it,"_ she snickered.


	11. Chapter 11

There I was, sitting on Luna's broad scaly back, she was sitting in the clearing and we were both waiting.

"Are you sure?" I asked skeptically.

_"I'm positive."_

"Okay then, let's do it." I felt her muscles beneath me tense and she crouched low to the ground.

_"Hang on,"_ she muttered before jumping into the air.

All at once it hit me, it was like I had been punched in the chest, I could no longer breathe and I felt myself slipping from her back. I clenched my legs tighter and wrapped my arms around her neck as she ascended higher into the sky. I felt the wind rush past my face, but it was hard to inhale the air. I was too petrified to do anything but hold on for my life.

_"Open your eyes,"_ Luna coaxed me. "_See what I see_."

I opened one eye slowly and saw the clouds that surrounded us; Luna stopped climbing and leveled off hidden by the gray puffy clouds. I sat up a little straighter, but then I felt nauseous so I clutched her tightly.

_"The feeling should pass soon_," she comforted me.

I sat up slowly and gawked at the beauty of the sky that surrounded me. Even though it was a cloudy day on the ground, in the sky I could see the sun and it shimmered its light across the clouds. I looked around and saw the forest beneath me!_ AHHHH! TOO HIGH! TOO HIGH! _

"_You will not fall, Alyson_," she reassured me,"_ Even if you did, I would catch you long before you hit the ground."_

"Very comforting," I whispered sarcastically.

_I can't believe this. I'm in the air! Way in the air! God, why did I do this! It's worse than roller coasters!... No one else has ever done this, no human in existence. I am the first to ride a dragon! I am the first to fly a dragon! I'm flying! I'm really flying!_

_"This is not flying,"_ Luna corrected. _"This is merely coasting... I'll show you flying!"_

"Uh, Luna, I don't thi-" but she took up before I could advise her not to.

She sped up and zipped through the clouds at her fastest speed. I couldn't see anything, everything beside me was blur of gray! She stopped suddenly and we were falling, plummeting to the ground!

"LUNA!," I called to her.

She started spinning during her descend and at the last moment before we hit the treetops, she swooped back into the air and did a loop-d-loop.

"LUNA! NO MORE! NO MORE!," I cried out to her.

She heard my pleading and corrected her course to fly smoothly through the sky. My stomach was in knots and my head was still spinning from the sudden drop.

"Let's never do that again..," I whimpered.

_"Too much for the first time?,"_ she asked.

"I just want to be on the ground..." I clutched her tightly.

"_I'm sure that it will get better with practice. It is also my first time of having a passenger."_

"Didn't seem to slow you down," I said while she landed safely on the ground.

I jumped down and felt a twinge pain in my thighs. I pulled up my shorts slightly to that my thighs were red and raw with blood.

"I think I chaffed while we were up there..."

"_I don't doubt it_," Luna replied. "_It makes sense with how tightly you grasped my scales_."

"I was slipping off!," I defended.

_"I think today went well! What about you?," _Luna ignored me.

"Well, I'm going home to take care of this and to look online for a massive saddle or something," I huffed.

"_Don't be upset. I'm sorry if the first rode was too much._"

"I'm not mad. I'm just terrified of heights is all."

"_Oh,"_ she looked surprised. _"I'll be more considerate next time_."

"_Thanks! See you later Luna."_

I went home and put some weird ointment on my legs and took a pain pill before crashing on the couch.

"What happened to you?," Asher asked while he and his friends barged into the house chattering loudly about their game.

"Uhhh, nothing. Just walked too long," I giggled nervously.

He shrugged and grabbed a water, guzzling it down in 3 gulps," Oh! That kid: Darion, was here looking for you."

"Darion? He came here?"

"Yeah. Told him I didn't know where you were. I guess I should've known you were out in the woods."

_Why did he come here? I just went to see him earlier. Surprised he isn't with Gweennn. She's so special and perky. Stupid college students think that they-,_ I stopped mid-thought.

"Hey Ash!," I called.

"What!?"

"Do you know some girl named Gwen? She goes to the college!"

He didn't seem to hear me because he and his friends were being stupid and messing with things in the kitchen. I got up and hobbled in, careful not to touch my thighs.

"ASH!," he turned to me. "Do you know a girl named Gwen?"

"Gwen? Uhm... I know a Gwenivere. I think she calls herself Gwen."

"What do you know about her?"

"Nothing," he spun his basketball," She's hot but doesn't talk much. She's too shy or something, I don't know."

"Oh, that Gwen chick? The one that works in the main office? Damn, she is fucking fine. Dude, sometimes I go in there asking for random papers just to talk to her! She has a nice ass!," Dan intruded.

"Figures Danny boy, you're desperate for any girl!," Josh snickered and high fived Lucas.

"So... she isn't a raging slut?," I asked hopefully.

"What? No. She is super shy though, I don't think she has dated anyone except that one kid... he was in some of math classes...," Asher got lost in thought.

_So maybe she has a boyfriend? That's good news... but it's not like people don't cheat on their boyfriends OR their girlfriends!_

"Eh," he shrugged, not caring to recall his name," I don't remember. Why do you care about this girl anyway?"

All eyes turned to me and I giggled nervously," Uhmm... well... it's just that... I met her today. She was over at Darion's house."

"No way!," Dan was shocked. "No way she goes for that nerdy little high school boy instead of me!" Lucas elbowed him the ribs to shut him up.

Asher cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation," You didn't... uhm, you didn't catch them or anything... did you?"

"No!," I shouted," Nothing like that. They were just working... but I don't know. I don't like her."

"Ohhh, someone's jealous," Josh teased.

"At least I have someone," I snapped at him and he cowered away.

"Hey! Stop that!," Asher commanded. "I don't like Darion, okay? You know that, but I doubt he is stupid enough to cheat on you... especially in this town! Where everyone knows everything! Especially when you have four brothers who are ready to whoop ass at a moment's notice," he smiled. "You have nothing to worry about, Ally, Darion isn't that stupid."

I smiled slightly," Sometimes you aren't completely horrible," I got up from the counter and limped up the stairs. In my room, I thought about texting Darion but decided not to. I didn't want to get all up in his business again and cause another fight, better to just leave it alone and let it fade away. I texted Kevin instead, I knew he would be able to help me out.

**Hey Kev.**

**Hi. What's up?**

**I want your opinion on something**

**Huh?**

**I walked in on Darion and some other girl working together. Nothing sexual, but he didn't tell me about her.. do you think he's hiding something?**

**If nothing happened, nothing happened. You have to trust him. You have been together like 9 months or something? Trust is key.**

**Yeah, I guess you're right, Thanks.**

I still was skeptical of it all,_ why didn't he just tell me? ALYSON! You have to drop it, if you dwell it could ruin everything._ I got a text and saw that it wasn't Kevin, it was Darion.

**HEY! Come over! I have some amazing news!**

_Ohh! I love surprises! _I jumped up and hiked back to Darion's house for the second time that day.

"Darion?," I opened his door.

"In the basement!," he called up.

"What?! What's so amazing?" I asked while coming down the stairs.

"Look! Look!," Darion spun his screen. He was on a weird government website.

"Brix: The new frontier?," I read aloud.

"Isn't it great!"

"I don't understand."

"Look," he spun his screen back to him. "There is this old government project to find new species. Scientists believe that there are still millions everywhere on the planet that they can't discover. Bottom of the ocean, deep in the jungle, even in the ground."

"I'm still lost..."

He rolled his eyes and smiled," If you do find this new species or sub-species and prove it, then you get credit and a $500,000 donation to help fund awareness for the animal."

"What are you saying, Darion?," I took a small step away from him.

"I'm saying if we gave the government proof f Luna, you and I could get some money for college. I know how stressful it's been for you with all your brothers and my mom works so many hours just to keep the house.

"You want me to give Luna to the government!," I took another step back.

"No, no, no. It's not like that, Alyson! All they do is study her to log it in the record: that's it. AND... Here is the best part! We would get credit for it! Imagine: The first ever dragon: Darion and Alyson!"

"Darion! Are you insane? I'm not letting anyone find out about Luna! Have you told anyone, yet?!," I was frantic now.

"No, not yet! But this is an amazing opportunity," Darion tried to persuade me," We could be famous! The first ever dragon, Alyson! It'll be great!"

"Darion! That's... This... I -I..." I couldn't even talk. _This is ridiculous! There is no way I'm letting this happen! How could he even think of this! NO! NO! NO! NEVER!_

_"Alyson! Alyson, What's wrong?!," _Luna was in my head. _"Are you alright? What's happening!?"_

"Darion, we can't do this!," I ignored her. "It's wrong!"

"I's not wrong! It's wonderful! The world will learn of dragons and we will be rich! No harm will come to Luna, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep!... How did you even find this?"

"Gwen and I-"

"Oh it figures that Gwen is in this too!" I ran back up the stairs.

"Alyson! Come back, Alyson," I heard him chase me.

"Leave me alone!"

"Alyson, just listen," he grabbed my arm," We don't have to! It was only a suggestion!"

"Did you tell Gwen about Luna!?," I pulled away from him.

"What? No! I didn't! I'm not an idiot! If I told her she would try to find Luna! Take her for herself!"

"Who are you!?," I screamed.

"_Alyson, I'm frightened! You are making me scared! What is wrong?"_ Luna was confusing me and making it hard to concentrate.

"We don't have to do it, Alyson! I was just thinking it was a good idea!" he crossed his arms.

"Well, you're wrong! That's the shittiest idea I've ever heard! Shittier than anything you've ever said!"

"Alyson, Stop! I'm tired of you treating me like shit!," He shouted.

"What!? How do I treat you like shit!?"

"All you do is say how wrong I am or what not to do! You never let me do what I think is right! The reason we don't spend time together any more isn't my fault!"

"Well if you think this is right, selling Luna, then you are wrong!," my eyes were starting to trickle tears.

"Just because it's not your idea!"

"No!," I corrected him," Because it's a shitty idea!"

"I can't believe you can't see this perfect opportunity! This could give us a chance to have a normal life again! Back to our plans, Alyson! I want to be with you, I love you! But you care more about that Dragon than you care about me. You don't love me anymore, do you!?"

"I do love you, you fucking asshole! Why can't you see that! I love Luna, too; she is a big part of my life now and I thought you understood that," the tears were now forming rivers down my face.

Darion took a deep breath and sat on the couch," Alyson." I looked up at him, wiping the tears away. "I love you. I love you more than I could ever describe, you are the world to me, my world. I just... I just don't think I can handle all the stress of a dragon. I don't want to put you through this, but I can't keep up this charade."

"What charade?!"

"The charade that I'm happy, Alyson! I'm not happy! That creature that lurks by you house scares me to death: what if she attacks the town or even you?"

"She would nev-"

"_Alyson? Why aren't you talking to me? What's happened?" _Luna was scared, I could tell and I felt terrible for ignoring her but I had more pressing matters to attend to.

"I know you think she wouldn't, but these questions run through my mind every second of the day! I don't think I could leave a consistent, content life with Luna in it."

The tears came rushing back," Are you breaking up with me? If you are just do it! Stop dragging it out!"

"Alyson, I'm not. I love you too much to hurt you!"

"This hurts me, Darion! Whatever all this is: it hurts," I barked at him

"Alyson... it's either me or Luna."

"Wh-what?" _I couldn't believe what I was hearing! This boy was obsessed with the unrealistic and as soon as it comes to his door he pushes it back!_

"Why do you think the first time I saw her I ran?"

"Because you're a coward!"

"No," he answered," It's because she isn't natural, Alyson? She doesn't belong here, in our world; can't you see that?"

My hand were starting to shake so I clenched them," So you want me to choose between you and Luna? Is that it, Darion? Either she goes or you go?"

Without a pause he responded," Yes."

My hands fell and all my muscles loosened, _What is happening?_

"I don't expect you to decide right away, Alyson. This is a big decision and it takes time to think over. There is no deadline, I promise. I just want you to make the right choice, and if that takes you longer than I can wait."

I didn't say anything to him, just turned and left not even shutting the door. It was starting to rain but I didn't notice, I wasn't even paying attention to where I was walking. I wasn't even thinking, I was just lost. There was nothing to say or do, no one could help me; I felt as if I was drowning from the inside out.


	12. Chapter 12

_"Alyson won't you talk to me?,"_ Luna pestered. _"Have I upset you?"_

"_NO! GO AWAY!,"_ I mentally screamed.

I felt her hurt and sadness but she withdrew from my mind and I was alone. I was still on my bed, sobbing uncontrollably. I had been like this for days: not leaving my room, not answering my phone, or getting on the chat. Darion had texted me over 20 times but I didn't read them, what more could he say to me?

"Alyson, honey?," my mom knocked on the door. " I brought you dinner."

'I don't want it," I grumbled,

"You have to eat," she insisted.

"NO! Go away!"

"DAN! BRING THE SCREW DRIVER!," my mom bellowed.

_What? Screw driver? _I sat up in bed. My father came up the stairs and I heard the screeching sound of an electric screw driver.

"Alyson, open the door... or I will," my dad said through the door.

"Are you guys crazy?! Just go away!"

"Just remember that you did this!," My dad called before the metallic sound of the screw driver started and it made contact with my doorknob.

"Wait! Wait! Stop! I'm coming!," I jumped from the bed and unlocked the door. It opened and revealed my mom and dad standing there; she had a tray with food and he had a screw driver. "You guys are insane," I said before turning to my bed.

"We're just worried, honey! You won't eat, you don't leave, we haven't seen Darion in awhile either! We are just worried," my mom stepped into the room.

"Just stop! I'm fine! I promise!"

"With behavior like this," my dad ignored me," we're nervous that you're into drugs or depressed. Honey, are you depressed?"

"NO!"

"Then it's drugs" my mom sounded defeated.

"NO! Mom! Dad! I'm fine, it's just I'm going through something and I want to be alone."

"What is it?," they asked in unison.

I rolled my eyes," Uhmmm... I'm trying... to decide... which... college to go to? Yeah, I'm trying to pick between colleges," I beamed at them.

"Ohhh!," my moms eyes lit up," What are your choices?"

_Crap._ "Uhmm, well, you see I don't want to tell anyone. I want it to be purely my decision so you don't get to know until I pick."

"Oh, Alyson...," my father was smiling.

"Why didn't you just say so?," my mom giggled. Both of my parents stood and looked at me with proud smiles," We are very proud of you, Alyson. You've grown up so fast and we couldn't be happier with the young woman you've become."

I smiled awkwardly," Thanks guys."

They left the room together and talked about how they did a good job as parents. I put the tray of food by the door and went back to my bed, there was nothing left for me to do.

I had thought of every pro and con of both sides, I had weighed the good and the bad of both of them, I thought of my future with either of them. Darion was the obvious choice: _I could be normal and raise a family: live the dream with him. But with Luna, I could live a different life, an exciting adventure with a new surprise everyday!_ It was near impossible to decide which of them to choose. _I love Darion,_ _but what if we didn't make it? What if we drift apart and I gave up one of the best things in my life for him to walk away? Luna would never leave me, we are bonded for life._

_"Luna! Luna I need you!,"_ I called out to her.

_"Alyson? Are you still angry?"_

_"I'm not angry at you, Luna. I'm angry with a choice I am forced to make..."_

_"What decision is being forced upon you?"_

I stopped, pondering if I should tell her the truth, _If Darion gets to know, she deserves to know. "Darion wants me to either be with him and him alone, or be with you and he will leave."_

Luna stayed quiet but I could feel her thinking,"_ Well that is quite a predicament... But can you really ask me? I believe I may be biased in this situation."_

_"Luna, I can't decide! I love you, don't get me wrong but... I love him too!"_

_"I know, I know you share your affection with both of us. But, if honesty is being brought, I never did like him much. He seemed to never like me either but we stayed civil enough for your sake."_

_"Thank you for that. I just don't want to make this choice," _I whined to her.

_"There is no easy answer: either you give me up for a him or you give him up for me."_

_"Well, Thanks!," _I said sarcastically_," Now I understand it all."_

_"No need for an attitude."_

_"Maybe I need another opinion!"_

_"Perhaps outside knowledge could give you a new view."_

_"Not my parents, though."_

_"I agree, they wouldn't grasp the situation. Perhaps someone from that... that thing your always on."_

_"The chat?"_

_"YES! The chat! They seem to be lovers of dragons and will not suspect anything."_

_"Yeah, maybe but they are also biased. They would give up their lives just to look at a real dragon, the ones I actually talk to socially don't even have relationships."_

_"Hmmmm. Maybe that will aid them in their decision. If they long for both things, like you do, it will be just as tough a situation."_

_"Okay... I'll try."_

_"Tell me the results,"_ Luna said as her presence faded from my mind.

_"WAIT," _I called for her and I could feel her again_," Thank you, Luna. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about this whole mess... but at the same time I'm sorry I told you! I don't want you to worry."_

_"Alyson, this world that I have been born into is strange. I am older than you in spirit, but you are older than me in years. You are still a young, small acorn on a tree, just a little sprout. You are the most important acorn on the tree to me! I want you ti understand that you will always be my rider, Acorn, okay? and I know that even if I don't get to stay and see you blossom, that you will become the best acorn in existence. Even if I am not with you, I will be with you... do you understand?"_

A silent tear slipped from my eyes and rolled down my cheek,"_ Yes, Luna. I understand."_

_"Good. I will not worry about what you choose; now go and find the answer you crave," _and with that she left me alone in my room.

I wiped the tear away and grabbed my phone:

**Hey Collin.**

I waited, but he didn't respond. _Figures_, I thought. _No guy ever texts back right away._

**Hey, what's up **He replied.

**Nm, wbu?**

**Same**

**Can I ask you something?**

**Yeah, sure**

**This is going to sound crazy...**

**Everything I hear all day is sane, a little crazy is good.**

**Let's say you have a gf, okay?**

**Okay**

**And let's also say you have a pet dragon.**

**I like where this is going!**

**And your gf told you that you had to choose between her and the dragon... who do you chose?**

**Nvm I don't like where this is going...**

**So, who do you choose?**

**Im thinking...**

I waited while he thought over his choice in my decision.

**Well... either way its shitty. Either you lose your love or your dragon. There is no win. Personally, I would pick my dragon every time.**

**Why?**

**If my gf cant accept my dragon, then she isn't accepting me.**

**What if you knew your gf before you had the dragon.**

**It would be the same thing. If I had the dragon beforehand, why would she ask me out if she didn't like it?**

**In this situation, the girl asked you out?**

**Sure, why not? Girls should do it too! It's very stressful to ask a girl out.**

**Haha, I bet. Which is why I never plan to ask a girl out. Haha, so you would pick your dragon...?**

**Yeah. This may sound like a douche thing to say but here it goes: I could find another girl. Finding someone new isn't hard especially since I would probably lose all respect for my gf the moment she asked me to make this decision.**

_Have I lost respect for Darion?..._ I pondered it and I knew that I had. He was asking me to choose between the most important things in my life; _if he had ever cared, he wouldn't have put this pressure on me._

**I can understand that.**

**So.. where did you come up with this?**

**Oh haha, it was just something my boyfriend asked me. **_That's not a lie._** If I would choose him or my dragon... if I had one. **_Neither is that._

**Oh, what do you say?**

**I said I didn't know.**

**Haha, so what about now? Have you made up your mind?**

**I don't know.** _I don't want to talk about it... new topic. New topic. _**What color is Rosco?**

**What?**

**Your dragon: Rosco. What color is he?**

**He would be red.**

**Rosco The Red Dragon. It has a nice ring.**

**So does Kamen the White Dragon haha.**

**Definitely going to name her Luna, no Kamen.**

**Oh, Luna is nice.**

**Thanks, so is Rosco.**

**Thanks.**

_Now what? What do I say? Why do I care? Why am I nervous? I have a boyfriend... well kinda. Are we flirting? No, this is just dragon talk, right?_

**How are things in the mountains. **Collin texted me, breaking my concentration.

**Slow, beautiful, magical.**

**Magical?**

**Well yeah. I love the forest here, it so breathtaking.**

**Sounds magical. So... how is everything going with you?**

**It's been different.**

**How's your bf?**

_Oh my gosh! He is flirting with me! He is! This is definitely flirting! Right?!_

**I don't know**, I tell him honestly. **He's being weird lately.**

**Maybe he is going to propose?**

**HAHAHAHA that's too funny.**

**He wouldn't.**

**We've been together less than a year, I don't think so. He's going to college.**

**Youre not?**

**I don't know yet. There are a lot of choices to make.**

**Yeah, I know what you mean. I was going to go to college but life gets in the way.**

**Exactly. And some people just don't understand.**

**Not at all, it's almost impossible.**

**Yeah.**

**So, when are we going to meet up?**

_Holy shit! Holy shit is he serious? Darion would kill me! Your never supposed to meet people form the internet in person! Is he serious? Does he like me? What does it all mean? Do I flirt back? What do I say!?_

**What about stranger danger?**

**Are we strangers?**

**Well, we've never met so yeah**

**I promise Im not some creepy 40 year old on his computer stalking girls who like dragons haha. I look like the guy you saw on the video.**

**Haha I know that but you live so far away. **

**Actually, my uncle lives a few miles from your town.**

**Really?**

**Yeah and my family is having a summer reunion in a few weeks.**

**Oh.**

**Yeah, so I'll be close so I just thought it would be cool to meet up. You can show me this magical forest.**

_Holy shit. He is dead serious! Is this a date? No, this is not? Should I even meet him! Too much, this is all too much! I need to focus on Darion and Luna!_

**Haha we'll see.**

_Shit, that sounds really flirty!, _I smacked my head.

**Haha okay. ttyl.**

**Bye.**

I turned my phone off; _Well... besides that incident he did give me some new views. I have lost respect for Darion, but I still love him. I still care for him and I care for Luna. But ultimately I can't have them both. I can't decide. How can I choose? _


	13. Chapter 13

The days passed slowly, it has now been a week since I last saw Darion. I had finally left my depressed, sappy state and left my room; I was done feeling sorry for myself. While I was cooped up in my comfy cocoon, I stole the Eragon series from Arien's room and read them. They were so full of Dragon history, I barely put them down to sleep! A lot of things mentioned in the first book related directly to Luna and I! It was a relief to finally get some answers... even if it wasn't real.

After my Eragon binge, I spent the days with Luna. We avoided the topic of Darion and focused on happier things, like the fact that she could successfully blow fire. It wasn't very big or bright but it was definitely fire and we were both happy about her maturing.

"You're getting so big," I said while stroking her head.

_"I feel that we a both growing,"_ she cooed back.

"Are you calling me fat?!," I stepped back and dramatically and slapped my chest to seem offended.

Luna rolled her eyes," _Acorn, you look to much into my words. I mean that you are growing up. I grow in body and you grow in the mind."_

I smiled,"_ I was being melodramatic, I know what you meant. Thank you." _I noticed that I was doing this more and more often: switching between talking aloud and talking through our link. It made me feel like I could speak a different language. "I've have learned a lot about Dragons."

"_Yes, you have gained knowledge."_

"I know Eragon isn't real but it just fits... nothing else really explains everything."

"_Yes but that other land is not real. Where did I come from?"_

"Well, dragons aren't real... not in this world at least. You are just a freak of nature."

"_I resent that remark_."

"A beautiful freak," I smiled.

"_I was being sarcastic_," Luna rolled her eyes. _"Do I look like you?"_

"I don't do that," I laughed.

_"Yes you do, Acron. You really do_," she rumbled with laughter.

"Hey, can we practice the wall thing?"

_"I don't see why you are fascinated by it. I like that we open to each other_," Luna revealed.

"I know, I like that to but I just want m thoughts to be my own sometimes, you know?"

"_I understand. I don't like secrets, but I understand."_

I closed my eyes and pictured a wall around my thoughts. Brick by brick, building layers between the outside world and my brain, locking in my thoguths. I could feel Luna on the outside, pushing her way through my defense. I tried to protect them, imagined them in safe with a secure lock, but once again Luna burst through with no effort. I let my breath go and opened my eyes, I could feel a small drop of sweat fall from my face.

"_You are getting better , Acorn_," Luna admitted.

"Still not good enough."

"_It will take practice, but your wall was very thorough and tough, I am just stronger."_

"So it this Acorn thing?," I changed the subject. I hated being weak, I wanted be able to have my own mind at least," Is that a nickname?"

Luna chuckled, her whole body rumbling," _I like it. It suites you, Acorn."_

_"I like it too, but you need a nickname ,too!"_

_"I don't believe I can give myself a nickname, that ruins it's purpose."_

_"Hmmm... if I'm acorn... maybe you should be...," _I thought quietly,"_ I don't know. It's hard to pick a nickname for a dragon..."_

She smiled_," Yes, it could-" _Luna stopped and sat up straighter, her ears perked and alert with wide observant eyes. She did this when she could sense someone else near. We had a few close calls with some hikers and then with me brother coming to get me for supper but she always left before anyone saw her.

"_Who is it?,"_ I held my breath.

"_I know who it is... but can't remember_. _They are alone... it's not one of your brothers... it's someone else."_

_"You don't know anyone!"_

_"I know this person," _she shifted to a crouch_. _

_"You don't know anyone!,"_ I repeated._ "You know Arsen, me, and those hiker's scents! _

_"No!," _her eyes narrowed_," I know one more," _

Now I could hear the person approach, pushing leaves and stepping on the terrain, gaining ground towards us with every step.

"_Luna! GO_!" I pushed her away, but she was much stronger than me and didn't budge. _Who the hell is it!? Why isn't Luna flying away?! Who else does she know? She knows who it is, but who!? Who else!? _

The sound of their approach was getting louder, _they're almost here!_ I was panicking, "_Luna! FLY! GO!" _She just stayed low to the ground staring at the other side of the clearing with rage building in her eyes! "_LUNA!,"_ I screamed desperately.

Behind me I heard the intruder enter the clearing and my heart sank, _it's too late! They've seen her!... It's too late. _I turned around quickly," This isn't what you-," my voice caught as I saw who the stranger was. "Darion?"

"Alyson," he started walking until Luna let out a loud roar of her distain. Darion froze," I guess I can assume that you told her."

Luna growled in the back of her throat. "_Luna! Control yourself!"_

_"I am,"_ she argued. "_If I wasn't he wouldn't be breathing."_

"Alyson! I just want to talk! You won't answer my calls or text me back! We need to talk," Darion called from across the clearing.

"Me not answering should have been a sign!," I yelled to him.

"Please, Alyson!"

"How did you even find me?"

"Really!," he said like I was a complete idiot. " I went to your house, they said you werent there and I knew if you weren't there you'd be here! Here with her!"

Luna roared fiercly at Darion who cowered and tok a few step back.

"_Low profile, Luna. Keep it down_," I reminded.

"_But you don't mind me scaring him?"_

"Be nice," I walked towards Darion. "_Stay here. You are kinda of terrifing and I guess we have to talk_." I stood about 5 feet from her and crossed my arms," What is it?"

"She won't attack will she," Darion was looking at Luna.

"Focus! You wanted me, here I am."

"Right," he turned to me," Alyson, I don't want you upset with me."

"Ohh, why yould you think I'm upset with you," my voice drpping with innocence.

"Don't be condisending, Alyson. I... I just wanted you. And only you. I don't want the dragon to get in the way of us," he grabbed my hand.

Luna roared and reared herself like a horse, when she landed, the earth shuddered and birds flew from the trees in search of safer spot to perch.

"Luna!," I yelled balancing myself. " LOW! LOW PROFILE!"

_"I HAVE A NAME!,"_ she shouted.

"OWWWWW!," Darion screeched and covered his ears, dropping my hand. " Make it stop!"

"Shut up, Darion!," I whipped my head to see Luna" Calm down! You have to control yourself! You can't hurt him, Luna!"

"_Why not! His ignornace towards me is revolting! I want to crush him!" _her eyes were flaming with rage.

"NO!," I told her while sending calming emotions and scenery. Her breathing slow from its hard and ragged pace, she sat back and closed her eyes.

"_You are right, Acorn. I won't harm him_."

"WHAT"S HAPPENING!," Darion shouted. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?"

"Darion! Shut up!" _Wait? What hapened to him?_ " What's wrong, Darion?"

"_He's just a weak boy! There is nothing wrong besides the mistake of confusing him for a male!,"_ Luna reorted.

"Luna!"

"I'm not weak!," Darion shot back at her.

"Darion!"

"_You are weak! Why else would you be so rude as to take upon yourseldf to control Alyson's life!"_

"I don't want to control her life," Darion argued. " I just don't want you to ruin it!"

"STOP IT!," I shouted and both of them silenced and turned to look at me. "Darion! You can hear her!?"

Darion's eyes widened and he glanced between me and Luna," I-I-I d-don't know! H-How is t-t-that pos-ssible?," he stuttered, alarmed by what was happening.

"You can hear her?," I repeated like an idiot. "He can hear you, Luna!," I turned to her dumbfounded.

"_He can? That is peculiar_," Luna was now intrigued. "_Can you hear me now?"_

_"_Yeah, I can," Darion said while rubbing is temples. " Fuck! Now I have a migraine."

_"Migraine?"_

"Its like a headahce times 100. They are super sensitive to light and sound," I whispered.

"_Ohh.. so YELLIING MIGHT HURT A LITLE BIT!,"_ she bellowed making my head throb.

I turned to Darion who looked like he was about to lose his balance, eyes wide, and mouth open; it was obious that Luna had affected him.

"Luna!," I tired scolding her but I snickered slightly at Darion, he looked like an idiot.

"Why can I hear her?," he asked.

"I have no idea," I stopped giggling.. "You could never hear her before, right?" Darion nodded in agreement. " It was in Eragon: Shappira could talk to people with her mind, I guess it's not that big of deal, it could happen."

_"Maybe I can only talk to the people I want to ripe the thorats out of..?,"_ Luna pondered.

Darion rolled his eyes," Maybe I can hear you because your not as strong as you think you are," he said with venom in his voice.

"_You better watch your boy, Alyson, or I will show him how strong I am."_

_"_Alyson won't let you touch a hair on my head, dragon!," he said angirly but softly to not upset his headache.

"Stop it!," I insited. "Both of you!"

"Control your pet," Darion retorted.

"_Control your boy_!"

"Control yourselves!," I snapped at them. "_Darion, can you hear me?" _Darion continued massaging is temples, "_He can't hear me?"_

_"That's interesting," _Luna admitted.

"What? What's intersting," Darion asked worried.

"You can hear Luna, but can't hear me. I don't think Eragon could communicate with others unless they were Rider's too. I'm not sure, I'll have to go back and reread," I began pacing.

"Oh... yeah, that's wierd," Darion stood again and grabbed my hand as he had done before, stopping my walking. "Alyson, I don't want to rush you. I love you. I really love you and I don't want to lose you, but... things here... with everything," he glanced a Luna," it's just getting wierder and wierder for me. Have you made a choice yet, or do you need more time?"

I looked into his deep, beautiful eyes, they were capitivating and there was a time I could stare at them all day. Now, it was hard to look at him for longer tha a few seconds,_ he still wants me to pick?! How can I decide?! I should be honest with him... with both of them. I should tell him what I've been thinking._

"Darion...," I started, breaking our gaze," I've been thinking about your... your offer," I phrased it to be as polite as possible. " I love you. I can't help it, I love you so much; almsot too much. But you have to understand that I love Luna too. Luna is... well she is now a part of me, you know? I can't abandon her! I can't abandon you! I love you both too much to make this desicion."

"So you've been up here this past week with her?," Darion asked wihtout skipping a beat.

"Well... no. Not the whole week."

"You would rather talk to her all day then pick up the phone and answer me when I called," he was angry, I could tell.

"Darion! It's not like that, I needed space to make a desicion which I clearly can't. I want both of you."

"I think you did," he said as he turned away from me.

I grabbed his arm," No! No! I can't choose between you! It wasn't fair of you to ask me to do this!"

He swiped my hand away," That wasn't fair! That wasn't fair! You know what's not fair!? Being forced to live with this secret, having to know that this thing," he gestured to Luna," lurks miles from my house. You never asked me if I wanted out of this! That's not fair!"

I cowered away from his harsh voice," Do you want out?," I asked sheepishly.

"YES!," he screamed, his face was red and his eyes were closed. "I wanted out! But now it's too late! You've already chosen her! You want her in your life instead of me! Don't you Alyson?! Don't you!?," he shoke me by the shoulders.

"NO! NO!," I began sobbing. "I want you! I want you! I want you both! Why can't I have you both!?"

Darion eyes where cruel and viscious," Because life isn't fair. I should have known that you would choose her. I could have given you months, years even and you still would have chosen to be with that dragon, instead of me!"

"I can't decide," I cired to him.

"Then I'll decide for you," he shoved me away from him, I stumbled but didn't lose my balance.

Luna roard and charged at him, I could feel her pure ferocity and intent to rip him apart. "LUNA! LUNA NO!," I shouted.

_"WHY!? WHY NOT?! HE DOESN'T CARE! WHY SHOULD I SPARE HIM FOR A SECOND TIME!"_

Darion hand't moved, he had barely flinched at a 500 pound dragon ready to atack him. "I know you won't hurt me," he says smugly. "Alyson won't let you. You don't have a choice," he turned to me. "I still love you and I'm sorry it ended this way," with that he turned and headed back towards town.

I couldn't hold in the pain, the agony, the pure hatred inside of me; I collpased into the grass crying uncontrolably. Luna didn't say anything, she curled up around me as I laid there sobbing. I cried about Darion, I cried about losing him, I cired about Luna, I cried about how I didn't lose her, I cried about everyhing and I cried about nothing.


	14. Chapter 14

Over the next week was an emotional roller coaster; I would cry for hours then turn around at laugh saying he wasn't worth it and that he was piece of shit. I would throw things and rip pictures out of my rage that he would leave me then I would regret ruining the memory held within the photo. I would binge eat everything in the house then not eat at all the next day, convincing myself I was a fat pig and that's why Darion left me. I replayed all our conversations,_ maybe if I would have said something different the very first time we made, he would have loved me enough to stay. _Luna tried to talk to me but I couldn't listen to her; I loved her but when I heard her voice it reminded me of how she was all I had left. I wasn't sad that she was all I had, I just always imagined having Darion and Luna; not just one. When I heard her, it just brought me back to the fact that Darion had left me and that I was alone.

My family was no better, they pestered me constantly. 'What's wrong?' 'Why are you sad?' 'Are you okay?' 'Just talk to us!' 'We are here for you.' They still didn't know about the breakup and I didn't want them to find out about it until I could explain it without crying. I didn't want to break down in front of my parents or my brothers. I almost did when Asher told me that he saw Darion and that Gwen girl at the college in the library.

_Maybe that's why?,_ I thought. _He just wanted an excuse to break up with me for Gwweennn! Because she's so special!... Who am I kidding? She's perfect. Pretty face, nice curves, she was even gorgeous with her piercings! I could never be like her..._

_"I wouldn't like you it if you were," _Luna interrupted my thoughts.

_"Luna!," _I sniffled.

_"I'm sorry, little Acorn! I know you need time but I can't stand to hear you compare yourself to this girl. This ordinary girl who couldn't be you if she studied for the rest of her life! She doesn't have your spark... your sense of life."_

_"Maybe that's why Darion likes her..."_

_"Don't think like that." _I stayed silent, letting the tears fall quietly to the floor. I knew that Luna meant well, but she couldn't do anything... I couldn't even do anything. "_If you can't speak to me about it... talk to someone else. Anyone. Don't let these feeling control you, Alyson. Please..."_

_"I will," _I submit to her.

I unlocked my phone and saw the background: it was a collage of pictures from when Darion and went to Glacier National Park. _ I remember that day..._

* * *

"Let's go!," I cheered Darion on. "You're almost here!"

Darion was panting and sweating from the narrow and inclined slope. "How are you alive?!"

I laughed," Maybe I should have chosen a lighter trail."

"I can do it," he inhaled the crisp air," how much father do you want to go?," he asked when stopping beside me.

"How much father can you handle?," I joked.

"I could walk this everyday. This is easier than Grand Theft Auto," he smiled down at me.

"Hey!," I slapped his shoulder then smiled back at him.

"So, how much farther until Logan Pass?," Darion looked around.

"Not much farther now," I took out my map," Not even a half a mile!," I was giddy with the thought of looking out onto the acres of wildflowers! It was too amazing, the pictures I had seen online were outstanding; seeing them in person must be 300 times better!

"When do we get to see the Lake McDonald! That looked really awesome!," Darion said from behind me.

"We can see that when we're done here! Just know that that's another hike."

He groaned from behind me," Hiking is not my thing!"

"Obviously," I giggled.

"It's getting colder!," he whined.

"That's because it's getting later in the day. The longer it takes to do this, the colder it gets." He groaned again. "Stop being a baby, we're almost there!"

"We already passed the sign!"

"Yeah, it said we were **here** but we aren't actually **there!"**

Then we emerged and my breath caught looking onto the most beautiful sight I had ever seen: the Logan Pass. Wildflowers of yellow and purple seemed to grow until forever on both sides of the valley, their green stems giving them a beautiful contrast in the fading light of day. Following the flowers my gaze fell upon Logan Peak; it was so tail and round, its base still had snow which glittered in the sunlight.

"Wow..," Darion whispered, wrapping his arm from behind me. "Good choice."

"Isn't it beautiful...," I was in awe of how perfect it looked.

"Let's remember it forever," he kissed my cheek and reached for his camera. He went to a rock and messed with the lens and lighting buttons while I just absorbed the wondrous view. Darion leveled the camera on the rock and came back to me," It's on a timer. Let's make this great!"

I turned and wrapped me arm around him and smiled and the camera blinked a red light. A bright white flash came from the camera and scared my retinas, so I thought it was over until the flash came again. I felt Darion kiss my head and turned to him while the camera continued sending its bright white lights. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips and I wrapped my arms around him, it felt like the right thing to do. I had wanted to wrap my fingers in his hair, but he was wearing a hat.

When the lights stopped flashing I pulled from Darion," Why didn't you tell me there was more than one picture!"

"Surprise," he grinned and we both reviewed the pictures. The first one was perfect, it showed the flowers behind us and the orange glow of the sun shining onto the valley with both of us smiling side by side. The second I looked stupid with my mouth open and Darion kissing my hair. The third one showed us looking at each other, me with my mouth open again like an idiot and Darion smiling at me. The fourth photo had us leaning into each other and the fifth had our kiss. "They came out really good."

"The camera's really good, it caught the light and everything!... Plus it didn't crack when it took my picture."

Darion scoffed," Mirrors crack, not cameras. And as many times as I've seen you in front of a mirror, not a one has cracked."

"Shut up," I laughed.

"Come on," he said while packing his camera away," It's fucking freezing and the sun is going down."

"Yeah, okay," I said while turning back to take one last look at Logan's Pass before following Darion back down the trail.

* * *

A tear fell from my cheek as a small sad smile formed on my lips, _that was a good day. Too bad I'll never look at him like that again... he'll never look at me like he did... I'll never get to kiss those lips... his lips._ More tears spilled out onto my sheets_, I should have never... should have never had sex with him! The fucking bastard! _The rage replaced my sorrow, _that's most likely the only reason he stayed! Once he got what all guys want, he bounced! I bet Gwen gives it up day and night and that's why he's always with her! Gwweeenn! Fucking slut! Scholarships my ass!_

I clicked on my messages, making the disgusting photo disappear. Darion's name was still on top of my list from all his texts and calls from last week. _Ew!,_ I deleted our conversation. Now Collin's name was first:

**Hey Collin.**

**Sup girl.**

**Haha, nothing.**

**Same, on a road trip with the fam.**

**Really? Where are you going?**

**Haha, I told you... the reunion.**

_Oh god! The reunion! He'll be here! That is NOT a good idea! I would look like a giant slut hanging out with some random guy a week after my breakup!_

**OH! Right, haha.**

**Yeah, we'll be there by tonight, tomorrow is the reunion and then we just chill here for a week.**

**You'll be here a whole week? **_SOOOOO NOT A GOOD IDEA!_

**Yeah. So, you thought about meeting up or am I too creepy?**

_Really shouldn't..._

_"I think you should," _Luna said scaring the shit out of me.

_"AH!.. LUNA! SOP DOING THAT!"_

_"My apologies. But, I still think you should go meet this boy!"_

_"He's a complete stranger! He could rape me! He could kill me!," _I argued.

_"Like he would ever get close enough," _she spoke cockily.

_"Have you ever killed anything but some foxes!"_

_"I killed a deer. It was fairly simple, I assume humans are just as trivial."_

_"Why do you think I should go meet him?," _I was curious.

_"You've been moping around your house for the past 2 weeks-"_

_"I went out last week! I saw you last week."_

_"Very true, but that was all. You haven't seen anyone from your life besides me and your family."_

_"That's because I have no friends in this town. They all are out having senior trips while I stay here and tend to my DRAGON!"_

_"Don't use me as an excuse to avoid your life." _

I sighed and stared at my tiny screen,"_ I don't know, Luna. I don't know him and I don't want to look like a slut."_

_"Slut?"_

_"A girl who has sex with a lot of guys_," I explained.

_"You want to mate with this boy! You hardly know him!,"_ Luna scolded.

_"LUNA! Sometimes I-.. I wasn't.. UGH!" _I wish she could just understand me!_ "I'm not going to mate with him! Humans will think I'm mating with him because that's what we do: we always expect the worst."_

_"Oh, my apologies again. This boy doesn't have to be your new mate, which might I say I disapprove of in humans. You should mate for life, if I ever find a mate I plan on it being life long agreement-"_

_"Luna.."_

_"Right, sorry. Can't this boy just be your friend?"_

_"He would be. I mean he is! I just don't know..."_

_"Live your life with no regrets, Acorn."_

_"What? Where did you hear that?"_

_"You said it. You were telling me about your plans for the future when I was just a hatchling __and you spoke of how you wanted to lie your life without regretting your decisions."_

I was about to justify why that quote has no meaning in this conversation when my phone buzzed with a new message.

**Don't sweat it. We don't have to meet, I am kind of creepy. Haha**

_Shit._

**No, it's not that. I swear, it's just some shit happened this week and I don't want to drag you in.**

**What?**

_Here it goes... _**My boyfriend broke up with me.**

**Oh, I'm sorry.**

**Yeah, he **I stopped typing,_ what do I tell him? What do I tell people when they ask why we broke up? _**didn't think that I was focused on the relationship.**

**Were you?**

_Kind of nosey, Collin._ **I guess I wasn't.**

**I'm sorry. Want to talk about it?**

**Not much to say, he gave me a choice and I didn't pick him.**

**So you broke up with him?**

**Not exactly, I couldn't decide and he walked away.**

**What did he want you to stop?,** Collin asked.

**Nothing.. something dumb...**

**Maybe it's for the best... you can focus on other things in our life. Like college or just life.**

**Yeah. It does give me a lot to think about,** I admitted.

**Haha, yeah. Gosh family is so annoying. This drive couldn't be longer! I'm glad we're almost there**

**Haha, I know what you mean. I have 4 older brothers.**

**Damn. That's worse. Haha.**

**Haha, yeah they get crazy.**

**I'm just glad it's over! We finally made it!**

**Wow, not too far of a trip.**

**Too far if you asked me.**

I smiled, **So your family thing is tomorrow?**

**Yeah.**

**Want to hang out the next day?**

**Haha, yeah that'd be great. Give me a break from all this! Are you sure, we don't have to meet..**

**No, I want to. It'd be nice to meet someone who won't judge my priorities.**

**Haha, yeah. I'm tired, ttyl.**

**Bye.**

"_I'm glad you did it,"_ Luna said giddily.

_"It's not that big of a deal, right? We're just friends!"_

_"Of course, Acorn. Of course."_


	15. Chapter 15

_"What if he tries to kiss me!,"_ I mentally spill my fears to Luna.

_"You don't want him to?,"_ she asked.

_"Of course not!"_

_"Well, if he does tell him he is only a friend."_

_If only that worked on humans..._

I stood in front of the mirror studying my reflection, with my fat cheeks and thin lips I didn't see how I ever had a boyfriend. I wore a black dress hoping it would slim me down; it had a lace draping, giving it a layered look. It was one of my favorites, but I felt like I looked like I was trying too hard. I had changed 3 times already and was running out of time to make up my mind! For my makeup I went light: only eyeliner and mascara. I put some chap stick on and looked myself up and down in my full length mirror, _Why do I care so much? _

_"First impressions are crucial. But for someone who is just a friend you seem to be very scared of your physical appearance..."_

_"I've already made my first impression! I just want to look nice! Is that a crime?"_

_"You've never met in person. It is not a crime, but you took less time preparing to see Darion."_

_Shoes! What shoes do I wear?! Sneakers look to casual and flats look to dressy... maybe my black vans?_ I started scavenging my closet_ ._

_"Alyson, don't ignore this! You're nervous that he won't like you? Aren't you?," _Luna kept talking.

_"No! I don't like him like that and I don't want anything like that. I still... I still have feelings for Darion."_

_"I will never understand! Why care for a boy who obviously doesn't care about anything!"_

_"I'm sorry it doesn't work like that," _I smiled._ " Love isn't rational. I can't turn it off and on."_

_"I'm glad I don't have to deal with it," _she huffed.

I put on my shoes and examined myself again, _I don't know... maybe I should wear that-_

_"I don't see why you're so nervous?"_

_"I'm not nervous," _I told her.

She chuckled,"_ Alyson, you've been obsessing about this for the past 2 days!"_

I ignored her and fixed my mascara.

_"Acorn, you're nervous he won't like you as a friend?"_

_"I'm nervous he_ won't_ like me as a person!," _I finally snapped at her.

_"What do you mean?"_

_"It's just... I drive everyone away! After a while of being my friend, my snarky sarcastic attitude that everyone found funny got too much to handle. Everyone leaves. I don't want to somehow push away a total stranger..."_

_"You can never push me away," _Luna said_," Not even if you tried. I'm too heavy."_

I chuckled_," I love you, Luna. How have I lived without you?"_

_"I haven't the slightest idea," _she hummed. "_Don't be late, Acorn."_

I glanced at my clock and I had 15 minutes to get there, _If I leave now, I'll make it. _I grabbed my shoulder bag, sprayed some perfume and did one final once over before leaving my room. I skipped down the stairs," BYE!," I yelled before shutting the front door and walked down our driveway.

I herd the door open behind me," Where are you going!?," my mom asked.

"Out!," I turned and smiled," I'll be back soon."

"WHERE!?," she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Darion's," I lied. "Be back soon."

My mother lightened and then smiled," Alright. Come back soon."

I kept walking fears swimming through my mind. There were several times I considered turning around and bolting home, giving Collin an excuse. _No,_ I took calming breaths, _This is good. Making new friends, not spending every waking minute with Darion or thinking about Darion or wanting to be with Darion... NO! This is good. _I made it to the park with a few minutes to spare, _I don't know why we chose a park to meet, but we did. I feel like I'm making a drug deal or something... What if he doesn't come? What if this was one big elaborate plan to embarrass me?! And Darion is in on it! I got to get out of here!_

I stood up and started to panic walk out of the park when I heard my name being called, I turned and saw a tall guy waving and walking across the grass to me. He was a lot taller than I thought; around 6'2 with his brown straight hair falling into his eyes. He had sunglasses on with a gray shirt and a black jacket, his jeans were ripped and he had on gray vans. He still looked buff under his jacket, but not too buff, like it was natural.

"Alyson! Alyson?," he slowed down when I didn't respond.

"Yeah," I snapped back to reality and let out a nervous laugh," Yeah, that's me. Hey Collin."

"Wow," he stepped up and gave me a hug. I was startled by his action that I didn't hug back; he smelled like a deep musky cologne, it really suited him. Collin pulled away," It's great to meet you... well, we met but I mean in life. Real life. It's good to see your face...not on a screen and in person. Um.. wow that sounded really weird. I'm sorry," he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

I giggled at his actions," Don't sweat it. I was scared shitless to come and meet you."

He lifted his head up," Really?"

"Hell yeah! At first I was scared of being a slut, then I thought you were a no show, then I was nervous that this was a scam from my ex or you would kidnap me for ransom... I feel like maybe I said too much..."

"No, no, no!," he reassured me. "I thought you wouldn't show and I would just be a weirdo sitting in the park alone."

"Why did we meet in a park. Very sketchy."

"I thought it would be easier to meet in a really public place, so you wouldn't be as scared and so if you didn't show up I wouldn't be a restraunt eating alone."

"Very true...," I thought about it. _Makes sense._

We both stood there for an awkward moment. "What do you want to do," he asked.

"Oh..." I hadn't thought of anything past this point. " We could go eat or walk around town for a bit. How did you get here?"

"I drove, my car is parked down the street. But we should walk, it's too nice to be driving."

"It is a beautiful day," I looked up at the blue sky with puffy white clouds drifting slowly.

We started walking the small track around the park and after a few tense ice breakers the conversation flowed smoothly. We talked about his family, then mine, how it was so weird to meet online and become friends in real life, then we talked about dragons and I admitted to finally reading the Eragon series. Collin was proud, but by the time I realized where we were, we had made it downtown.

I laughed," I didn't even realize we had walked so far."

Collin looked around," Where are we?"

"Downtown," I said while smelling the delicious scent of burgers and hot dogs being grilled at the diner across the street.

"The smells amazing," Collin said turning to the diner.

"Yeah, it does."

"Hungry?"

"Starving," I smiled.

"Let's go," he nodded and headed off.

_Now we are eating! People are so going to judge me! It's just dinner. It's just dinner, Alyson. Friendly dinner. _I followed him into the diner and we got a booth; Collin order a double cheeseburger with curly fries and a chocolate shake. _That sounds amazing. _I got the same thing and he arched an eyebrow, I blushed," Girls got to eat."

He raised his hands ,"Hey, no problems here," he grinned showing his dimples.

_God, he is beautiful... A FRIEND! A FRIEND!_

"So when do I get to see these magical woods?," he asked finally taking off his sunglasses. His eyes were a soft light brown with green around the iris and a chocolate brown on the outside.

_A beautiful friend. _"We can go after this?"

"Sounds great. Don't you live up there?"

"Yeah."

"Do I get to meet your family?"

I chucked low in my throat," You don't want to, trust me."

"How bad can it be?"

"Uh... pretty bad. Plus I told my mom I was at my 'boyfriends' house," I said with my fingers making air quotes.

"You haven't told them..."

"I haven't grown the nerve yet. I don't want them to get me all emotional, you know?," I asked while Collin nodded," so I'm waiting until I'm less... emotional about it all. I know my brothers would all threaten to beat him up or something an they would do a good job, I don't doubt it. My parents would keep asking me if I am okay and it would just be too much."

"I get that. Sometimes family is a little close minded to see what we want."

Our food came and it was delicious, I had eaten about half and my stomach was bulging. "I'm so full," I groaned.

"So I can have your fries?," Collin asked and I pushed the plate across the table. "This place is great."

"Yeah, it's really the only place to get decent priced food. There was a cute little ice cream shop down the street but it went out of business."

"There are a lot of empty shops," Collin noticed.

"Yeah, it's slow here in Montana."

"I know it all too well," Collin smiled," Let's go. I want to see this forest before it rains."

I looked out the window and saw the fluffy white clouds had turned gray and were covering the sky, blocking out the sunshine.

"Do you want to get your car?," I asked.

"No, it's fine," he put his glasses back on," let's go!"

My phone buzzed and I saw it was text from Darion. _What the hell does this bastard want?_

**Alyson, can we talk.**

"Is everything okay?," Collin saw I hadn't moved.

**We can talk later.** I texted him.

"Yeah," I shut the screen off," Let's go."

While walking up my long drive way, I realized that Luna was still in the woods.

_"Luna?"_

It took a minute for the response to come,_" Yes?"_

_"I'm coming up the trail-"_

_"Ohhh! I'm so excited to hear about meeting the boy!"_

_"No, Luna it's-"_

_"Was it that bad? I hoped it would be a pleasant experience-"_

_"Luna!"_

_"You didn't get angry or sad during it, I kept close watch on your emotions!"_

_"LUNA! I'm not alone!"_

_"Oh!... OH! I got it, I'm gone."_

_"Thanks! I'll tell you about it later!"_

_"I await your call."_

"What do you think?," Collin asked turning to me.

"Huh?... What?"

"Did you hear me?"

"Uhm, no."

He smiled," If I'm boring you, just tell me."

"No. No, it's not that," I reassured him," Just got lost in my own thoughts."

"Understandable. Is that your house?," he whistled.

"Yeah, that's it."

"It's huge!"

"Well, seven people live there but there is only one shower. It's a madhouse in the mornings."

"I bet," he replied.

The front door opened and my mom was on the porch," Alyson! Alyson!," she called.

"Oh, no!," I muttered.

"Alyson, who is this young man," my mom asked as we approached the house.

_Shit._ "Mom, this is my-"

"I'm Collin," Collin extended his hand and my mother shook it.

"How do you know my daughter?," my mom asked and I flinched. _Oh no..._

"We went to high school together. Why? Did she never mention me?," he smiled, pretending to be offended.

"No," my mom turned to me," she never did."

"Yes, I did mom," I tired to keep up the lie. "This is Mara's boyfriend."

My mom closed one eye, thinking," I thought Mara's boyfriend was Justin?"

"No, mom. It's Collin."

"Oh, well I'm sorry I can't keep up with all your friends social lives," she turned to Collin," It's nice to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine," Collin replied.

"So what are you doing here... with Alyson?"

_Shit._

"We're working on a duel scholarship," he said without missing a breath.

"Duel scholarship?," my mom sounded confused.

"Yeah, mom. I told you about it like 2 weeks ago, did you forget?"

"She shut an eye again, trying to recall the conversation," Uhmm... no."

"It's about mapping a geographical landscape close to where you live. Its up to $10,000 to any college of the winner's choice. The representatives of the scholarship want it be a duel project to show teamwork: one boy and one girl."

"Those scholarship rules," my mom rolled her eyes," they get crazier and crazier each year. But $10,000 Alyson! That would be amazing!"

"That's kind of why I want to do it, mom."

"Watch the attitude," she warned," Why aren't you doing this with Darion? Weren't you at his house?"

"Oh, well...-" I tried to come up with an explanation but my mind was blank.

Collin stepped on," It doesn't apply to his major. And I texted her asking if we could do this today because I leave for my vacation in a few weeks" Collin turned to me," I'm really sorry for ruining your pans for the day."

"No problem...," I tried to sound legit.

My mom nodded, understanding," Well, that's too bad. So you're going to map the mountains?," my mom asked.

"A small portion," I told her," and we need to get started before the rain comes."

My mom eyes widened," Yes! Hurry back! As son as it rains I want you to come home! Okay?!"

"Yes! Yes, mom! At the first drop of rain I'll be back."

"Okay," she said worriedly. "Be safe."

We walked away from the house quickly," How did you come up with that?," I whispered amazed.

"It just came to me. Mom probably thought I looked sketchy and I wanted it to look like I was all about school."

"It was clever."

"Thanks," he grinned and my heart throbbed looking at his dimples.

We walked further down the trail and he admired all the plants and different trees; while looking at a tree he saw a deep long claw marks etched into the bark.

"Wow!," he lifted his glasses. "That's some scary shit. Look how big those claw marks are."

I gulped down the ball in my throat, shit. _Those are Luna's. Shit. Shit. Shit._

"Probably a bear," I tried to sound casual.

"No bears in these woods."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. There are not bear prints that I've seen while being here and these claw marks are too thick for a grizzly."

"When did you become an expert?"

"Been studying animals for... a long time," he said while feeling the tree's gashes.

"Why?"

"I want to be a zoologist."

"Oh, that sounds fun: working at a zoo."

He chuckled," Zoologist don't just work at zoo's, they can but not always. They can be researchers or explorers, it's really exciting."

"I can tell," I said sarcastically. "Can we go?," I was getting nervous.

"Aren't you curious about these slashes."

"Not really... they're everywhere. They've been there for years."

"I don't think so... there is no rebuild of the tree, it's not rotting, it looks pretty fresh."

"This is not the magic of my woods," I said while crossing my arms," come on," I said while walking away. _Come on! Please, come on.. _Reluctantly, he walked away from the tree, _Thank goodness. _"That was really impressive... how did you learn so much about bears? I thought you didn't go to college."

"It wasn't really anything," he said shyly," I've been researching for about a year, getting ready, trying to et some background knowledge for college."

"I think you've succeeded. I mean, you know the size of bear's claws... you're golden," I laughed. "Over there is my river," I tell him. "It's really pretty, I'll have to show you on the way back." My phone buzzed again:

**Alyson, I just want to talk to you. Please?**

_Darion,_ I rolled my eyes and shoved my phone back into my bag and I turned back to ask Collin about where he was going to college but he wasn't there.

"Collin?," I called out for him. There was no response," Collin, come out!"

"I'm over here! By your river!," I went down the stream.

"I was going to show you later," I was not loving getting down to the bank in my dress.

"Do you see these huge imprints!," he was gawking at the large footprints on the bank.

_Shit! FUCKING GOD DAMNIT! WHY DOES HE KEEP FINDING LUNA'S TRACES!_

"Those are just the indents of... fishing gear," I lied.

"Oh," he turned to me disappointed. "I thought we were on to something," he smiled.

"Too bad," I said, then I felt the icy prick of a raindrop on my shoulder. "Shit."

"What?," his expression puzzled.

"It's starting to rain..."

"Oh, want to head back?"

"Not really... but my mom is crazy."

He threw his head back and his laugh rang out in a deep melodious tone," Well, I believe on staying on the good side of crazy people."

We walked back until the rain starting pouring, we ran but we were already soaked. We had just reached my porch when my mom opened the door; her face was tense until she saw me standing there.

"Alyson! I was getting worried," she smiled, but it came off creepy. I could tell she wanted to flip out on me but didn't want to in front of company.

"Sorry," I apologized," we ran back but it... it was a little too late," I smiled. " I feel really bad, I don't want you to walk back in this rain," I turned to Collin.

"Well, no way I'll let him! You'll stay here until the storm passes. I'll call you're folks," my mom smiled. "Come in, let's dry you off! In! In! In!," she shooed us into the house.

_Great..._


	16. Chapter 16

"I'll get some clean clothes," my mom scurried up the stairs while we both stood on the entry mat dripping.

Collin and I stood in silence, _god this got awkward. Why can't my mom just leave things alone!_

Collin cleared his throat," Sooo..."

Before I could also say something to fill the void, Arien walked in from the living room and stopped, shocked by the pair of us standing there. He raised an eyebrow," Am I missing something?"

I rolled my eyes," Go away."

He shrugged and passed us to go up the stairs, I heard my mom coming down hurriedly and saw she had towels and dry clothes.

"There is a bathroom down the hall," she pointed while handing over towels and clothes. "It doesn't have a shower so you'll have to do without unfortunately. But go and clean yourself up as best as you can," she pushed him off.

Collin walked slowly into the living room, I could hear his shoes squishy with water as he sauntered.

My mom turned to me," Go clean yourself off. Go on, hurry."

I took off my shoes and went to my room, dried my hair and put on sweats and a hoodie. I looked in the mirror and my mascara was streaking down my face, _Oh God! How long have I looked like this,_ I whipped my face roughly and tired my hair up in a sloppy bun. _Why does my mom do this! He could have made it back to his car! I barely know this kid and now his in my house! What if he robs us or kills one of us! He could be an elaborate thief! He could be anyone!... I can't tell anyone... not yet!_

Walking down the stairs, I could hear laughing from the living room and I saw Collin talking to Asher, Ajax and my dad. When they saw me, they all smiled," Alyson, come here," Ajax invited me.

I sat on the couch next to Asher," Where have you been hiding this kid?! He is hilarious!," Asher nudged me.

I rolled me eyes and scooched away form him," I haven't been hiding him-"

"Then where's he been!"

"Probably avoiding you," I stared snarky. I looked at Collin and grinned, concealing my laugh. He looked completely different out of his leather jacket and black clothes. He was wearing some of Asher's clothes: red and gray basketball shorts with a red Nike shirt. He looked like a total jock, not anything like the bad boy he had appeared to be just hours before.

Collin spoke up," I actually know Alyson through her friend: Mara, she's my girlfriend."

"I smell a scandal," Ajax whispered to my dad.

"Ajax!," I did not want that to be a conversation. "We're just friends!"

"Well it does!," He hoped over the arm of the sofa and sat beside Asher. "That's how it all starts... just friends. I mean, we don't see Darion for like what... weeks?," he looks around and Asher nods, approving of his words. "Then out of nowhere, you show up with some random guy who is dating your friend? Scandalous!," he shouted.

"Shut up!," I said through gritted teeth.

"Am I right?," Ajax sounded excited.

"Ajax...," my dad warned," I wouldn't go there."

"I would listen," I could feel my anger rising as I glared him down. Ajax revised and gave up, not wanting to pursue the matter.

"Collin!," my mom called form the kitchen. "What's you parent's number?"

"I already talked to them!," he replied," They're okay with it. They don't want me driving in the rain."

"Is someone coming to get you?," my dad asked.

"Uhmm... they can't," Collin looked at his lap," The house I'm staying at right now is actually flooding and they are busy trying to drain it.

My mom came into the room as my dad asked Collin if he wanted to be taken home. "No!," my mom said solidly. " No one is going out in this weather. Absolutely not! Collin, I'm sorry but it looks like you're stuck here because you're not walking out the door unless you have a ride."

"Yes, ma'am," Collin said shyly.

"Are you sure your parents don't want a call? I would feel so much better if I could talk to them! Lord knows, I would want someone to call if it was one of my kids."

"I'm sure. It's okay."

A large crack of thunder cut the air like a knife, shocking everyone into silence.

"I hate thunder," Asher grumbles.

"Baby...," I mutter. My phone vibrated and I pulled it out and saw new text from Darion, I chose to not even read it and put my phone back in my pocket.

"Okay," my dad clapped his hands," In light of having a guest, I believe we should make the night fun? Huh? What do you say?"

"By what?," Ajax asked," By killing ourselves?" My mom slapped his head," Ow... like what?"

"A movie night?," Asher suggested. The lights flickered from the howling winds wearing on our electrical wires.

"Yes!," my dad cheered," that sounds good, since the lights might go out anyway. Why don't you make some popcorn dear," he asked my mom," and we," he turned to us," will pick a movie."

My brothers and I groaned, movie nights were the worst. No one could ever decide which genre, then we could never decide the movie; it was near impossible. By the time we would normally decide, no one cared about the movie anymore.

"The guest can decide what movie we partake in viewing," all heads turned to Collin. He looked uneasy with all the eyes on him and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Let's see what you got..."

After 10 minutes of looking over the vast collection of movies we owned, Collin chose on watching the X-Men movies! _Thank god! Something I like! No some bullshit "lesson teaching" movie! _My mom made popcorn and even put some pizzas in the oven, the twins even came down to watch with us. It looked like something you would see in a photo album of a reunion: Asher and Arsen were on the floor wrapped in blankets while my parents snuggled together on the couch with Ajax next to me, Collin in the one of the chairs, Arien in the other. Everyone had their own blanket and their own bowl of popcorn with a slice of pizza and a soda. Looking around, everyone was engaged in the movie and that almost never happened in my house, I smiled to myself. I looked over to Collin and he was staring wide eyed at the TV, shoving popcorn into his mouth: mesmerized. _So far he hasn't done anything... maybe he is chill. Maybe he is waiting for us to fall asleep... I'll pull an all-nighter to keep an eye out._

_"You said you would tell me,"_ Luna sounded aggravated.

_"It's still not over..."_

_"I don't understand?"_

_"My mom invited him and he can't leave until it stops raining so... he's still here."_

_"Oh... that's odd. Right? This is not usually how dates go?_

_"NOT A DATE."_

_"Right...meeting? Not how meetings go?"_

I sighed," _Right. Meetings do not usually go overnight."_

_"How is it so far?"_

_"Not bad. He's a nice guy."_

_"So you like him?"_

_"Yeah, he's nice."_

Luna purred with satisfaction,_" I'm happy you found someone..."_

I smiled at Luna's stubbornness, her persistence and how she never doubted herself_," We're just friends."_

_"Tell me all about when he goes home. Goodnight, Acorn,"_ I could feel her tiredness spread to me and I yawned involuntarily.

_"Goodnight."_

Around the midnight, my parent retreated to their bedroom, wishing us all a goodnight but not before pulling my brothers into the kitchen. My dad said it was to make them pickup, but I knew he was telling them to keep an eye on Collin and I._ Seriously!?_ I was offended,_ they really think I would do something with this kid! When they think he has a girlfriend and when they think I'm still with Darion! Wow... assholes._

During X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I saw that Asher and Ajax were fading in and out of consciousness. _Babies... who can fall asleep while Wolverine is killing people! Too amazing..._ I told Ajax to go to floor and he obliged in his half awake mindset. In the middle of X-Men: First Class I noticed Arsen was snoring and I rolled my eyes, _Why are my brother's such pussies. _When The Wolverine ended and I retrieved the disk from the player, I saw Arien was snuggled up in his blanket sleeping soundly.

I glanced over to Collin who was looking at me," Sooo..."

"We have Days of Future's Past," I told him.

"Really!? I haven't seen it yet!"

"How can you not have seen it! It's probably the best one yet!"

"Put it in! Let's watch!"

"Are you going to stay awake? I mean...," I gestured to the sleeping boys around the room.

"How could I sleep?! It's X-Men!"

"Good point," I put the movie in and raced back to the couch.

"Hey... I've been wanting to ask... but I didn't want to in front of your family," Collin said. My breath caught in my throat, _Oh god! What does he want to say! Oh god! _"Is it freaking you out that I'm here? I mean, I totally get it... we are still kind of strangers. I don't want you to be uncomfortable..."

I looked back at his chair," Just don't try anything," I told him.

"I wouldn't-"

I cut him off," I know. You don't seem the type, but I still have to say it. If you do that, it'll be fine."

He nodded, agreeing with me. "So, your family is really chill."

I snorted," Yeah right."

"No really. Brothers are nice and parents are super considerate."

"They always are to guests."

He paused, he obviously wanted to say something but was caught up in the words," Wow... it's sill really raining out there..." he finally stated.

I could hear the rain against the roof and had seen the random flashes of lightning through out the night," Yeah, gets pretty bad up here. Is it not like this where you live?"

"Not as bad," Collin admitted. " So this is like the future?"

"Yeah, now shh!" I checked my phone: 3 more messages from Darion.

**Are you ignoring me? Answer me, Alyson!**

**Alyson! You said Later! It's Later!**

**Why are you doing this! I just want to talk!**

I rolled my eyes, _why is he making this about him! You dump me than beg me to talk to you! Fucking douchebag!_

"You okay?," Collin asked.

"Yeah," I jumped at his voice," Just stupid drama."

"Your ex?"

"Yeah...," I debated whether or not to tell Collin. _Why not? He listened before? He always has good advice... why not? He's a friend. _"Alright," I sat up and faced him,"Why do guys do this!? He broke up with me, like last week and now he's flooding my phone with messages! Saying he 'just wants to talk', like what the fuck?"

"Dude, that's weird. Maybe he regrets breaking up with you..."

"Well, too late for all that bullshit. I told you about that right? He made me choose...between... and when I couldn't... he... he," the words were getting caught in my throat. _I cant believe I'm doing this! I thought I was done! I don't want to cry anymore!_

Collin was obviously unsure what to do in this situation," Uhmm... do you want a hug?"

The tears were falling freely and I tried to hid them in the arm of the sofa. Collin must have taken my tears for a yes because he sat next to me on the couch and hugged me around the waist," I'm sorry...," He said softly. "Your ex sounds like a real jerk. I know this sucks, I was dumped by my true love, too."

"Really," I sniffled raising my head.

"Yeah... she was the love of my life. At least I thought she was, we were together what felt like hundreds of years...," a sad smile spread on Collins face. "She left me for a guy I knew... he was a friend."

"I'm sorry...," was all I could say.

His smiles faded and he sat up, putting his hands in his lap. I was slightly disappointed, his hug was comforting and I was okay with him touching my fat. That never happens. "Don't be. It's all old news, I don't love her anymore. I thought if she can just ditch me like that, than was what we had really love?"

"Yeah... I feel that too."

"It gets easier...," Collin told me," Once you get past this stupid stage of mourning and sadness."

"I thought I was past it," I wiped my eyes," But he keeps talking to me. Like, last few weeks he barely says hi to me and now it's 'let's talk' 'we should talk about this' like where was that attitude before you broke my heart?" I could feel the tears coming back and looked up at the ceiling hoping they would drain back into my head.

"I promise, once this passes it gets better. When she broke up with me, it took her 3 days before she made it official with this other guy. 3 days! That was shitty. I looked like a complete idiot to everyone... including myself," he looked at his lap.

"What was her name?," I was curious.

"Dalia."

"She sounds like a total bitch," I gave a fake laugh.

"She is...," he chuckled," I see it now, it just took time and soon you'll see that Darion is a jerk."

"I already see it," I said.

"Then you're half way there," we both laughed and turned back to the screen. Wolverine was back in the past in the Professor's mansion," Wait what? I'm lost."

"Because you haven't been watching!"

"I had better things to do," he looked at me and smiled. _God! He's so beautiful! Beautiful friend! Beautiful, beautiful friend._

"Shut up," I nudged him," Why don't we watch a scary movie? Since you won't be able to understand this movie anymore."

"Awesome, love some good horror," he put the movie back in it's case and picked one of the many scary movies we had to offer. Sadly, I hadn't seen most of them due to thee fact they were never chosen for movie night and the living room was never available to watch movies. When Collin came back, I was slightly shocked that he sat back down next to me on the couch, he didn't go back to the chair. I was also secretly happy, it was comforting for him to be so close, he had a calming presence.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I groaned,_ Better not be him. It's 4 in the morning, why is he even up!_ Of course it was:

**I thought you loved me. Why are you doing this?**

I covered my mouth with my hand, his words hurt. _Why would he say that! Of course I love him! Why is he doing this to me!_

Collin covered my phone with his hand," Give it to me." He slipped it out of my hands and put it on the side table next to me. Colling held my hand in his," Don't let him do this to you, Alyson."

I nodded shakily still processing Darion's words... _'I thought you loved me.' 'I thought you loved me' I thought he had loved me?_

Collin turned my hand over," Nice scar."

I pulled my hand to see what he was talking about. It was my mark from touching Luna, my gedwey thing. It my was Rider's mark. "Yeah," I chuckled," When I go it when I used to fish with my dad, I caught a fish and tried ripping it off the hook and it cut me, I had to have stitches," I lied.

"Fishing?," Collin raised an eyebrow.

"A long time ago," I reassured. "Never again."

"Ahhh," he faced the screen again and we both some blonde girl running from a guy with a giant machete.

"What movie is this?"

"I honestly have no idea," he laughed.

The girl shut a door and leaned against it, thinking she was safe. "Bitch better move," I said right before the machete pierced the door and impaled the dumb blonde. "Told that bitch."

"Got to love the dumb blonde in horror movies."

"Yeah, they really add to the whole movie, usually they're the sluts too."

"And the first to die," Colin stated.

_Okay! I feel bad! He's fucking a good guy! No planning on killing us or taking our shit! Just a nice guy I met online! Why have my parents ruined meeting people online for me! He is just a nice guy and I feel shitty for thinking he was otherwise. He even helped me stop crying about Darion, opened up about his own heartbreak! GOD HE IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PERSON!_

"Collin...," I turned to him.

He broke his stare from the screen," Mhhh?"

"I'm really glad I met you. You're a nice guy."

He seemed a little set off by my random compliment to his character," Thanks. I'm happy that I got to meet you too."

_Oh God is he going to kiss me! Would I kiss him back? I don't know! Maybe? ... NO! I wouldn't! Maybe... God what if he does! Do I want him to? I kind of do! I kind of want him to kiss me! IM SUCH A SLUT!_

Collin wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me down and kissed the top of my head. _Uhmmm... not what I was expecting... _He kept his arm around me, which was nice, and I rested my head on his chest. His heart beat was fast, like he was scared of me; _Why was he such a beautiful guy, on the inside and out?_ I hid a smile at his nervousness and slowly drifted to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

I woke up on the couch with a blanket draped over me. I sat up and squinted my eyes due to the harsh sunlight streaming into the living room through the windows. I looked around and saw that my brothers were all still sleeping in their blanket cocoons and that Collin was scrunched up in the chair._ Didn't he come to the couch last night? Yeah, he did... why is he back in the chair?_

I stood up and stretched, my muscles were tight and sore; I sauntered into he kitchen rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Gooooodd Mooorrnning!," my dad smiled.

_Ugh...too early._ "Hey."

"I'm making pancakes! Want some?"

I glanced into the pan," I don't think I'll survive your pancakes..."

"Rude," he said as he flipped them and revealed their black sides. My dad chuckled," This darn stove... runs too hot."

"Sure, dad," I said while leaving.

"Hey," he called and I turned. "So your... your friend, when is he going home?"

"Probably when he wakes up...," I told him, trying to make it sound obvious. I then went upstairs to shower, this had to be the first day in years that all 4 of the boys had slept in! I was showering first! The hot water was amazing and refreshing, I got enough time to shave and do my hair treatments. When back in my room I chose to wear some black leggings and loose tank top. I brushed my hair and put on some mascara, _looks nice_, I concluded. I went back downstairs: all my brothers were up and in the kitchen, Collin was in his chair on his phone.

"Hi," I said, flopping down on the couch.

"Hey," he was staring intensely at his screen.

"Something wrong?," I was worried.

"No, nothing," he still hadn't looked at me.

_"I feel like you don't wish to speak to me,"_ a sweet voice floated into my mind.

_"Luna, I do. I promise, it's just weird to talk about it when he is right here!"_

_"You did it all the time with Darion!"_

_Ughhh! "Fine. It was really nice, we walked around town, went to eat, then came back for some exploring in the forest."_

_"And...," _she egged me on.

_"And he spend the night. He slept on a char while I slept on the couch; we watched movies and talked about things."_

_"I'm glad you had a good time with this boy."_

_"I wanted him to kiss me!," _I blurted.

Luna stayed silent for a moment,"_ You wanted him to?"_

_"Yeah... It sounds horrible! But we were talking about Darion and I started crying... and I just wanted him to,"_ I admitted and hung my head.

"HEY! You guys want any food!?," Asher called to us from the kitchen interrupting my conversation with Luna.

"I'm good!," I said and then turned to Collin. He finally looked up, then shook his head. " We're good!"

"Sooo...," Collin said and pushed his phone into his pocket.

"Is that what you say when you have nothing to say?," I smirked remembering the other night at my doorway.

"Yeah, pretty much," he leaned forward and but his elbows on his knees.

"Do your parents want you home?"

"No, they don't. They said it would be better because of all the damage, it's not safe or some bullshit."

"It sounds like they got hit bad...," I said stupidly. _Of course they got hit bad!_

_"Heeeeeeeellllllllloooooooooo?," Luna sang into my head._

_"Sorry everyone is talking at once!"_

_"So he didn't kiss you but you wanted him too?"_

_"Yeah, I think I'm past it, I was just emotional."_

_"That may be..."_

_"Can we talk later? Please, I'm in the middle of everyone talking and it's getting confusing!"_

_"Yes, Acorn. We will talk later," _she left my mind.

"You got plans for the day?," I heard Collin ask as I snapped back to reality.

"What? Uhmmm... no. No plans."

"Do you want to do something? I understand if you don't bec-"

"Yeah," I cut him off," Why not?"

He smiled and my heart fluttered, _NO! JUST A FRIEND! _"Great, I'll go get my clothes," he went off towards the laundry room. Ajax came into the room with some coffee and sat in the chair across the room.

"So, got yourself a new boyfriend, eh?," he said while taking a sip.

"No."

"What would Darion say if he knew another guy stayed the night here, mhh?," he smirked behind his coffee.

"Don't know. Don't care," I shrugged. _I am so done with all this. I don't feel guilty at all! Darion is the one who broke my heart, I shouldn't have to still be suffering!_

"So you guys aren't together anymore?," he arched an eyebrow.

"Ajax, stop, Leave it alone," I still didn't want to tell Ajax, he would probably be the last one I tell.

"Touched a nerve, did I? Here's what I think," he put his mug on the table. "I think, you and Darion broke up and this boy," he waved back to the laundry room," is your rebound. Am I right?"

"No. That boy, is Mara's boyfriend: my best friend. If you really think I'm that kind of person, than you really don't know me like a brother should know a sister."

"I noticed you didn't say anything about loving Daron in that little speech," my breath caught. _Shit! _"So I'm still thinking that I'm right: that you two are Splitsville."

_Why is he ragging on me about this?_ "Well you're wrong, I'm just mad at Darion right now so..."

"Come on, Alyson. We all know already," Ajax said softly.

Just then, Collin came back into the room," Hey man, " he nodded to Ajax," Ready?," he asked me.

"Yeah," I said glaring at Ajax," Let's go."

"Bye," he smiled to us," You two kid have fun!"

I slammed the door and Collin could sense my frustration, but avoided the topic," So where to first?"

"I don't care, not much to do in this town..."

"I can see that... want to go out for breakfast?"

My stomach rumbled with it's own reply," Yeah, that sounds great."

We walked back to town, laughing about my family: my brothers and my parents. Talking to Collin was just so simple, topics changed swiftly and fluidly with no struggle or awkwardness. We had a lot of the same tastes: in music, in movies, in food. I felt like I could tell him anything, even about Luna and he would just act natural and not freak out. I knew I couldn't tell him about Luna, not now, not ever; but it made me happy to imagine his reaction.

"Soo.. you slept in the chair?," I tried to sound casual.

He chuckled," Uhm, actually I slept on the couch, but when I heard footstep upstairs I decided it'd be best if your dad didn't see me sleeping next to his daughter."

_Shit, I forgot about my parents._ "Right, that makes sense."

"Like I said: I believe on staying on the good side of crazy people."

We went back to the diner that we ate at the day before and even got he same booth. I got country fried steak and eggs while Collin got eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and pancakes. It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at his meal.

"Guys got to eat," he shrugged and I let out a laugh.

I looked up involuntarily when I heard the ding of door, only to have the smile fade from my face as Darion walked through the door.

"Shit," I said out loud.

"What?," Collin looked around," What happened?"

"My ex! He's here!," I put my head down on the table.

"Don't let it bother you. Just ignore him," Collin tried to calm me down, but my breathing was fast and shallow. _What is he here? Here of all places! Did he know I was here! Why am I so nervous! PLEASE, don't come over here! PLEASE!_

I glanced up and Darion was staring right at me, he started walking, headed towards our table. "Fuck!," I whispered and sat up straight.

"Hey," Darion stopped at our table," Alyson..."

I didn't look up at him," What do you want?"

"Just talk to me...," he pleaded.

"I need time, Darion. I don't want to talk."

"But you'll talk to this guy?," Darion's voice was filled with accusations.

"Yeah, I will! He is a good friend."

"Who is he anyway? I've never seen him before!," Darion was glaring at Collin.

"Why are you here?," I asked in a whisper.

"I want to know why everyone is telling me about how my girlfriend is running around town with some random guy no one had ever seen before!"

"Just leave, man," Collin was trying to keep the situation light.

"How did you even know we were here?!," I questioned.

"I was going to your house when you two came skipping down the trail... you acted like I didn't exist! Like I had meant nothing, you moved on so quick to this loser!"

"You followed us!," I was shocked.

"Yeah, I followed you two on your little date! Why was he at your house so early? Have a little sleepover, did you? Made me wait 8 months but this kid get it after like a week! So you lose me and lose all your morals?! Or are you a call girl now?

"Dude," Collin looked at Darion," Shut the fuck up and go away."

"Who the hell are you?!," Darion said louder than necessary. "Why are you even here?! How do you know my girlfriend?!"

"STOP!," I slammed my hand on the table. "I am not your girlfriend anymore, Darion! You broke up with me, remember that? So go away! Stop texting me, just leave me alone. You can't just come here and insult me, then turn around and say we're together!"

"Leave," Collin stated forcefully.

Darion ignored him and kept his gaze on me," I deserve to know how quickly you'll run off to some new guy, Alyson! I deserve to know how much of slut you are and how quickly you'll spread your legs for the next guy! Where you even a virgin when I met you!?," Darion was in my face. "Or was that all an act? How fake are you? How many guys have you been with, be honest for once!"

My eyes blurred form the tears, _Who is he? This is not Darion! Why is he being this way._

"Leave now!," Collin said in a low voice, one I had never heard form him before, it as terrifying.

"Or what?," Darion turned to him. "Sorry to break it to you pal, but she's not worth the fight. Maybe she's better in bed for you-"

Darion was silenced by the contact with Collin's fist to his face, I gasped and my hands flew over my mouth._ Holy shit!_

Darion fell to the floor and was holding his jaw," Fuck!," he screamed. "Shit!"

Everyone else in the diner was watching and some older guys had stood up waiting to see if they needed to break up a fight.

_"Alyson? Are you alright?," _Luna was now in my head.

"Collin...," I was too shocked to say anything else. _Holy shit! What the fuck just happened?!_ Collin was shooting daggers at Darion with his teeth clenched and his face was red.

Darion stood still gripping jaw, blood had started to ooze from his mouth and his face looked slightly swollen from the punch. The whole diner was silent and watching... waiting for something to happen.

"Darion? Are you okay?," I uncovered my hands from my mouth.

"Shut up, skank," he spat blood on the floor. "Stay out of my life... both of you." He began to walk away the turned back to us," By the way... I fucked Gwen." Darion opened the door and stormed down the street.

I sat down slowly trying to unravel the events that just happened.

_"Alyson! You're scaring me...,"_ Luna was in a panic. But I still didn't reply, _Collin punched Darion!_

"Are you okay?," I finally asked Collin.

"I'm fine... wish I could hit him again the little ass... fucking little shit...," Collin turned to me," Are you okay?"

"I think... I want to go home," I said.

"Okay... let's go," Collin left a 20 on the table and we left the diner. Everyone was still watching us, judging us, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

"Alyson...," Collin was trying to get me to talk. _Darion slept with Gwen... he just fucked her! We haven't even been broken up for that long and he just fucks some girl! I can't believe he would do that_...

"I don't want to talk about that. Ever," I quickly walked down the street, shaking Darion's words from my mind.

"Alyson, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it worse! I really tried to control myself but he... he wouldn't shut up," Collin sounded miserable.

I stopped and turned," Don't be sorry. I'm happy that you punched him. I wish I would have punched him... The way he... he just, ARG! I just can't stand the thought of him right now," I stormed down the sidewalk. "Why did you even punch him?," I was curious.

"I-I-I was just so angry. He was saying all these untrue things, all these lies and I couldn't hold it back anymore," he admitted.

"How do you know they were lies? I could be a slut," I said bluntly.

"True, you could be but most sluts don't worry about people thinking they're sluts... you were scared to even meet me!"

"True," I said." I just can't believe you hit him!," I was in awe. "It was amazing!"

Collin chuckled," Thanks... but I'm just kind off worried that you're blocking out what he said. You are extremely calm for what just happened."

"I don't want to talk about it," I snapped.

"I think we need to talk about it! I just punched your ex boyfriend! He just admitted to stalking you, cheating on you and accused us of being together! That's something to talk about!," Collin was being dramatic.

"Nope," I replied. "Nothing to talk about."

He sighed," Fine, suite yourself."

"I still don't see why you punched him... you barely know me. I could be anyone, but you still defended me," we turned down the road to my house. "Why?"

"Well, we're friends, right? I stick up for my friends."

"Pretty bold of you."

_"Alyson! I need a response," _Luna said sternly.

"Yeah, I put myself all on the line."

"Obviously," I wasn't really engaging in our conversation, I was lost in my mind. I was proud of myself for holding in my crazy, it was surprising that I could even do it so well. I also held back my sobbing, I had cried once in front of Collin and that almost lead to us kissing, I didn't want to happen again. Collin didn't want to kiss me and I didn't want to ruin our new found friendship, I just had to hold in my emotions.

_Darion cheated on me... with Gwen. He fucked someone else while we were together..._

_"Darion cheated on me..."_

_"Cheated?"_

_"Mated with another girl while we were together."_

Luna roared with anger_," YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME TEAR HIM APART, THE SMUG LITTLE CHILD! I WILL END HIM!"_

_"Luna, there is no point. I'm done with him, he has left me numb. He's killed me...," _I could feel my sadness washing over me.

"_Don't say such things, Acorn. All wounds heal in time.."_

_"I feel like it never will... It was healing but then he just reopened it and cut it deeper."_

_"It may take longer than before, but soon when you think of Darion, you will feel nothing."_

_"I don't think so, I think I will always hate him!," _I said in a low voice.

_"Don't let your anger over power your happiness."_

"...I was going to show you today but given the circumstances...," Collin paused.

"Show me what?," I asked.

"Nothing. We can do some other time."

"Yeah, sure...," I was spacing out.

"Alyson, I'm not sure I want to send you home like this. You're parents will think that something happened..."

"Something did happen..."

"Well, yes, I know but-," Collin was trying to convince me to stop but I didn't want to._ I think today is as good as any. I'm just so tired of all this shit_.

"I'm going to tell my parents," I stated.

"Tell your parents? Tell them what?"

"Everything. About Darion, about you... just everything."

"Your going to tell them about me?!"

"How you punched Darion, not about how we met. I'm not that crazy."

He chuckled," Yeah, they might freak out just a little..."

"You should probably go home. Your family needs you and you don't want to be here for this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"I'll text you, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to walk you all the way home?"

"No, it's fine. I can do it."

"Okay," Collin turned and started walking back towards town.

I got home and sat on the couch,_ How do I approach this... Do I just blurt it out? Or do I beat around the bush until she figures it out?_

"Arien? Is that you?" my mom called from the kitchen.

"No, it's me!"

"Oh, Alyson! I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"Yeah," was all I said.

"Are you alright?"

"No... we need to talk." The dreaded words 'we need to talk', my mom got silent and crept out to the living room.

"What is it? What's wrong?," She sat down next to me.

"Mom, I-... About 2 weeks ago... uhm... Darion broke up with me," I hung me head in shame.

"Oh, Alyson," she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. I couldn't help the tears, they came out of nowhere. "Shh, it's okay."

"Mom! H-he ch-cheated on me...," I sobbed.

"No! Darion? I can't believe it!"

"He told me today, while Collin and I were eating...," I cried. "He said I was a slut! That I wasn't worth-"

"Shhhh," my mom silenced me," It'll be okay."

"Collin punched him."

"What!?," my mom pulled me away to look at me," Collin punched him?!"

"Yeah, Collin punched him when he was saying all this stuff."

My mom squinted," Good for Collin. Darion better not come around here, or I'll punch him."

I smirked," Yeah, we can all just beat on him."

"Sounds good to me I'd love to get a few whacks in, I've been dying to do it."

"What? I thought you liked Darion?!," I was surprised.

"Well, now that your not together and never will be. Honey, never go back to him: once a cheater always a cheater," I nodded to her words. "I always felt like he was hiding something and he was rude to your brothers."

"They were rude back!," I don't know why I defended Darion.

"All I'm saying is, he never really treated you how I felt you should be treated. He never did all the cute high school love things like: give you flowers, or surprise you with some random grand gesture. You two seemed more like an old couple who had been forced into a relationship... I don't know, but I never really liked him."

"Oh...," I was really shocked. _Never liked him? Wow! My mom is the master at hiding her feelings! _"Thanks mom," I stood up. "I'm going to go upstairs."

"Hold on," she said. "We need to talk about Collin."

_Shit._

* * *

**_***SPOILER ALERT: The next chapter will have a surprise!***_**

I don't usually do this... the whole authors note at the end of the chapter, but I just want to take this time to thank everyone. Yes, everyone! To all my avid readers of all my stories; to all the lovely reviews that have been written, inspiring me to continue; to all the users who read my stories but don't review, I thank you as well! I thank you all! To each of you, I give my gratitude! I hope the next chapter is up to your expectations! Keep Reading! Keep reviewing!


	18. Chapter 18

My mom talked for an hour about how irresponsible it was to lie about Collin and about Darion. She said that I could always tell her the truth, no matter what and she would try to understand. In the end, she grounded me for a week and sent me to my room. I didn't care, I was strangely relieved to have told someone, I felt liberated to have this weight of my chest. _Imagine how nice it would be to tell people about Luna,_ I smirked to myself. _Like that will ever happen._

_"So no one will ever know that I existed?," _Luna entered my thoughts.

_"It'll be better this way... no complications."_

_"So you are doomed to never find love? To never find a boy to spend your life with? Never leave? Never live?... All because of me?,"_ Luna sounded miserable.

_"No, Luna. I could still find someone-"_

_"But then he would find out about me? Then he would run away like Darion did."_

_"Not all humans are as cowardly as that prick,"_ I spoke with venom," _I might be able to find a guy who would love and appreciate you as much as I do!"_

_"But I am doomed to be alone forever..."_

_"Luna, don't say that..."_

_"I don't want to lie to myself... There are no other dragons."_

_"There could be! I mean no one knows about you, so there-"_

_"Stop!,"_ she said suddenly,"_ I don't want to believe there is. I don't want to go on wishing for a miracle, I want to live the truth."_

_"It was like this in Eragon, you know. Saphira thought she was the only one, then out of nowhere came a new guy dragon!"_

_"But she did not mate with him,"_ Luna stated.

"_True, but more were found. She found a mate and lived happily ever after!_," I sighed,_" I love happy endings."_

_"There was no such thing! Her and her mate were separated by their riders and never saw each other again... that's a horrible ending." _

_"I know,"_ I spoke quietly in my head," _I know we do not have such a happy ending in sight, either. But I still have hope!"_

_"Hope is foolish when the truth is obvious!" _After a moment of silence, Luna spoke again,"_ I wish we could ride again."_

"_I know, me too. But I can't! My legs almost died last time and I can't find a 'dragon sized' saddle on the internet. In the book, Eragon, made a saddle; I am not that craft saavy."_

_"Hmmm, very true."_

_"Plus, I'm grounded..."_

_"Again? It never ceases to amaze me how much trouble you get in," she scoffed._

The next few days passed slowly; I stayed at home and talked to Luna and Collin. Fortunately for me, Collin trip was prolonged due to the damage the storm had done to his relative's house. He said that his mother was even thinking that they should just spend the summer down here. I was excited that he wasn't leaving, because he was really my last friend. I had no on else to talk to other than Luna.

**So what are you doing today?** Collin texted.

**Same old, stuck here in this house.**

**You need to get out! I need to get out! My family is driving me nuts.**

**The silence is driving me nuts! No one is ever home anymore!**

**No one's home?**

**Nope.**

**Then let's do something!**

**I can't leave! If I do, it'll only make things worse,** I sighed.

**Then you won't leave. I'll come to you.**

**That may be an even worse idea.**

**Do tell.**

**If they catch you here, my parents will think we're hooking up or something!**

**I see your point... Just ask if you can work your scholarship! The one were we map the woods, tell them the deadline is coming up or something!**

I pondered the thought,_ yeah it might work..._ I texted my mom and she asked me a million questions before agreeing to let me leave the house! I jumped in the air with joy!

**YES! SHE SAID YES!**

**I'll meet you there!**

I went upstairs and changed into some jeans and my one of my favorite Supernatural shirts. I brushed my hair and put on some lip gloss before gliding down the stairs and out the door. I was amped to be able to get out of the house that I screamed out into the trees, the freedom felt amazing.

_"Luna...,"_ I called out to her.

"_Acorn,"_ she responded.

_"I will be visiting the forest today with Collin,"_ I practically sang.

_"I understand. You seem awfully cheery?"_

_"I am! I'm basically out of house arrest!"_

She chuckled," _Congratulations, I'll see you later."_

_"YEAH!"_

_"Be cautious," _Luna warned,"_ I sense something..."_

_"Something?"_

_"I don't know what it is... but... just be careful."_

_"Can do."_

**Where are you?** I was impatient waiting for Collin.

**I'm omw.**

**Hurry! **I paced outside my house, growing wearing from watching my driveway with no luck of seeing Collin. I finally sat on the steps and closed my eyes, my burst of energy was gone; it was like coming own after a sugar high. _God, he is taking forever! He has a car, hurry up!_

"Hey there, stranger," I opened my eyes to the sound of his voice.

"Hey," I jumped up right away.

"Let's go," he smiled excitedly.

"You seem happy?," it was my turn to saay

"Of course I am!

I giggled," Why?"

"I have a great feeling about today," he said, his dimple poked his cheeks. "Let's go."

In the forest we talked more and more; I was happy that conversation never grew dull when I talked with Collin. There was always something to say or something to comment on, it was always interesting.

"I just feel free, you know? Like... I wish his would have happened a long time ago. I feel so much better without him," I admitted. Collin nodded at my ramblings," I wanted to thank you," I mentioned. "For... for punching him. I want to thank you again."

"Will you stop?," he said half heartedly. "You've thanked me like 100 times!"

"I know. I know. It just means a lot. I wish I could repay you"

Collin stayed silent before speaking," How about this: you just accept my gift."

"The gift of punching my exes?," I chuckled.

He smirked," No, I have a real gift for you. I think you're ready for it."

"What?"

"I have a surprise for you, Alyson," he grinned and began walking quickly down the path

"What? A surprise?," I struggled to keep up with his rapid pace. "What surprise?"

"It won't be a surprise if I tell you."

"Surprises are overrated! Tell me!

"You'll see," was all he said.

"You can't just leave me in the dark! Tell me!"

"You'll see. Why don't we talk about something else, huh? Uhmm... tell me about what you've learned about dragons."

_That's a stupid subject change. I should try to keep it broad, so I don't come off as personal_. "Well... not much. I mean, I read the Eragon series and that had a lot to offer... but other than that not much."

"Tell me what you've learned," Collin requested as he charged off the path and into the underbrush.

"Dragons have links to their riders and they are connected in some ways no one can understand."

"Yes," he encouraged.

"They are very intelligent and I personally believe that they are just as smart as humans." _Well that failed._

"Continue."

"They are great at battling, as long as they are trained and are believed by some to be sacred animals."

"Good. Very good," Collin stopped.

"What's with the sudden quiz?"

"I don't know, curious about your education."

"Anything you would like to add?," I crossed my arms.

"Oh yeah, loads. There is so much more to learn, but all in good time."

"Good time? What does that mean?"

"Come on, Alyson! A little further," he continued walking.

"Are you going to ignore what I just said?," I stomped after him.

"No," he replied.

"Well... then answer!"

"Can you just wait? It'll be a good surprise, but you got to be patient!"

We walked in silence for a while until we came across a big open plain, I had never really paid much interest in it. It was a wide open space with tall dry grass, it went on for maybe 500 yards before the trees flourished. It was an ugly piece of land, dead and rotting, I liked to avoid it because it gave me the creeps, it felt like a graveyard.

"Why are we here?," I asked Collin. "How do you even know about this place?"

"We are here because I have a surprise and I was told about this place," he answered simply and sat on the ground.

"Told by who?" _Who do you know in this town? Who would have told you about this wasteland?_

"Doesn't matter. Anyway, come here. Sit." I was hesitant to sit next to him, he was scaring me. _What is this surprise? Why are we here? What is he talking about?! _"Alyson, I want you to know that you can trust me," he grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were so deep and lovely, so comforting and accepting, so beautiful.

"Okay," I said, stretching the word to show my discomfort.

"Everyone has secrets," he started. "Believe me, I know. Some secrets may be bigger than others and it may seem... impossible! Impossible to believe, let alone talk about. But you'd be surprised what other people may know about what you may think is a secret," he never made direct eye contact with me.

"What are you talking about?," I was officially on guard, Collin was acting strange. _Is he trying to say he likes me?!_

"I'm tryin to explain that sometimes... sometimes people are hiding the same thing," he snorted," I'm not doing very well at saying it but... I hope you can understand," he looked to the ground shyly. _SHIT! HE FUCKING LIKES ME!_ I was partially over joyed and another part of me screamed it was wrong. I chose to play dumb so he admit his feeling first.

"No.. What are you saying? What is this surprise?," I smiled innocently.

Collin looked up to me, his eyes were full of what I thought to be lust. They were so sincere and I was ready for him to admit his feelings so I could confess to my small crush for him. I caught my breath as I waited for him to say: I like you, but instead was shocked to hear a completely different set of words. "Where did you get this scar on your hand?," he asked as he rubbed his thumb across my palm.

"I told you, I got it from a fishing accident," I tried to keep my voice happy to keep the moment light.

"I know what you told me, but where did you get it from... really?"

I pulled my hand from his, all traces of joy were gone," I got it from a fishing hook," I said dryly. _Just say you like me! No speech!_

"It's just weird...," he said quietly.

"Why?"

"I've never been fishing in my life."

"So? Why does that matter?," I was annoyed with his game.

"It's just... I-I...," Collin was now stumbling over his words.

My anxiety was boiling, I couldn't take the anticipation any longer," Just say you like me!," I blurted, then cover my mouth with my hands, instantly regretting my out burst. _Oh God! Why did I say that?_

Collin took a deep breath," Alyson... I know you didn't get that scar while fishing," he stared at the ground, not even acknowledging what I had said. "I know that fishing equipment doesn't leave imprints in the ground. I know that there is no animal large enough in this world to make those claw marks on that tree," he looked to me. My heart was racing, _what is he saying! What is happening!?_ "I also know that people don't just get sudden interest in a random animal out of whim, it happens for a reason."

"Collin, what are you talking about," my voice was shrill and nervous.

"I know your secret, Alyson," he said calmly, his deep brown eyes never tore their gaze from mine.

"I-I-I...," I was at a loss for words. _WHAT!? HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY KNOW! THERE IS NO WAY! HE IS GUESSIGN! PLAY IT COOL! DON'T ADMIT! _I cleared my throat," I-I don't have a s-secret." I looked away in fear that he may coax me into submitting.

"Look," he extended his arm to me. I saw on his palm he had a light pink scar across his palm, exactly like mine._ No! It's not possible! _"I've never been fishing in my life... but yet I have the exact same mark as you..."

_ No! This can't be happening! It's not real! It's a dream._

_"Alyson? What's wrong?"_

_"Luna.. I-I-I... I-I-I..."_

"That doesn't m-mean anything...," I tried to rationalize the situation. "A-Anything could cause that mark."

"But you know it wasn't anything...," his voice floated through the wind like a song. It was relaxing, but I was still internally throwing up.

_"Alyson! Something's here! I don't know... Something! I coming!,"_ Luna was talking rapidly.

"Alyson, I don't want you to be scared. I am not a threat. I just want to help you."

"I need to go home," I stood up and backed away from the beautiful boy in front of me.

"Alyson, no! I don't want to scare you! I just want to talk!," Collin had his hands up to show he wasn't being defensive.

_This... This isn't real. No... No way. Collin? No... Luna! I need... I need Luna._

"I-I-I-I'm g-going...," I was trying to back away from him but I couldn't see and Collin kept stepping towards me.

_"I'M COMING!,"_ Luna roared.

I was too ambushed by the events, I turned from him and ran. I wasn't running the right direction; in fact, I ran straight into the dry grass, but as long as I was away from him, it was fine.

"Alyson!," I heard him call. I didn't stop, I kept pushing past the deep leaves and I could hear Collin was close behind. "Alyson, please! Don't! I want to talk!"

"No!," I screamed and kept moving. _This isn't happening! This isn't real! This isn't happening! This isn't real!,_ I kept repeating that in my head but I couldn't believe it.

"Please! Alyson!," Collin was practically right behind me and I yelped and pumped my legs harder.

_"I'm almost there! I can hear you!," _Luna was frantic."_ I see the boy! I SEE HIM!"_

I looked up to the sky and saw my white dragon diving towards the ground.

_"LUNA! LUNA, NO! YOU CAN'T BE SEEN!,"_ I tried to stop her but it was too late. She was descending at full speed, almost to the ground when out of nowhere a large red flash collides with her in mid air.

They both fall to the ground, causing me to lose my balance from the impact. My side felt like someone was stabbing me, but I wasn't near anything! I was feeling Luna's pain! A roar pierces the air as I stand, clutching my ribs, to see Luna was fighting with an enormous red beast. _Holy shit...that's a... THAT'S A DRAGON!_

"NO!," Collin was running towards the brawl," NO! STOP!"

The red dragon rams into Luna, causing her to fall to the ground again and I with her. The pain was excruciating, my vision was blurring as I tried to put up the block in my mind.

"Luna...," I called weakly.

I heard Collin hollering over the rumbling roars of the creatures as they attacked each other. I heard the sounds of them slashing at each other and felt the ground shake from their movement. Collin was making little progress to stop the disagreement because the blows kept coming and my body was aching. The pain was overwhelming," STOP!," I shrieked, "STOP!"

The earth stood still and the air was quiet,_ "Alyson!,"_ Luna's big blue eyes were all I could see. "_Alyson! Are you alright!?"_

"Luna," I mumbled, the pain was beginning to fade, but it still hurt.

_"Alyson, are you injured?"_

"Luna... there's...there's a dragon," I stated questioningly.

She peered back behind her shoulder," Yes," she was shocked. "There is a dragon." Luna growled at something, showing her sharp teeth.

"I just want to see if she's okay!," I heard Collin.

"Luna! Help me up," I began to sit. The world spun and my vision was still foggy around the edges but I saw Collin standing about 100 yards away... in front of a large red dragon. _This... this isn't real._

"Alyson! Are you okay?!," Collin asked but I wasn't listening.

"Luna...," I whispered. "There's a dragon! Another dragon!"

"_Yes_," she hissed angrily.

_"HOLY SHIT! A FUCKING RED DRAGON! A DRAGON! A REAL DRAGON!,"_ all my pain vanished as I gazed upon the gigantic scaly creature.

"_I am also a real dragon_," she snorted.

_"I know that but... but this! THIS IS HUGE!"_

Collin began to approach, but Luna roared at him, warning him to stay back. The red dragon was not pleased and roared back in response while stepping forward protectively over Collin.

"No! Stop!," Collin turned to the red dragon. "No more! We are not fighting!," he faced us again. "Alyson! Please! TALK TO ME!"

I looked to Luna," _I do not trust them! We should leave." _

_"And go where? He knows where I live! We will have to talk to them, either now or later_," she said hesitantly

_"Later! Later! Definitely later when you can get strong enough to rip their hearts out and I can think of a plan,"_ I was heated.

"_Alyson! We have to talk and I have a lot of questions that need answered!,"_ Luna was not loving her options in the matter.

"I don't think it's a good idea! They are a threat! That fucking dragon just jumped you!," I shouted aloud.

_"We will not attack_," a deep throaty voice boomed into my head.

"What the fuck!," I screamed in panic.

_"We will not attack_," it repeated.

"Alyson! Please?," Collin inched towards us.

Luna looked to me disapprovingly," _We have to... I see no other choice. Just keep watch on them."_

Collin was now close enough that I could see his face, he strolled over to us cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...," I felt Luna tense, ready to pounce into action a second's notice.

Collin put his hands in his pockets," This is not how I imagined your surprise."


	19. Chapter 19

There I stood, in the graveyard of dead grass and the rotting stumps of forgotten trees talking to a boy I had only met last week, listening to him tell me the tale of how he discovered his own dragon. I watched his lips move but I could hear no words, all that filled my ears was white noise. My eyes soon blurred him out and all I saw was the red dragon crouching in the grass behind him; it was a massive creature, almost twice as big as my little Luna. It watched me as I was watching it's chest rise and fall, his scales shimmering in the fading light of day.

"Alyson!," my attention was snapped back to Collin.

"Huh?"

"Are you listening?"

"No," I stated bluntly. "I'm not. I want to go home."

Luna spoke to me," _Acorn, why must you be rude. I am curious to know of their history, how can you not be?"_

_"I am... but I also don't trust Collin anymore, so how can I believe anything he says!?"_

"You can," Collin said to me. "I wouldn't lie about this."

"How are you doing that," I snapped at him. "How are you hearing our conversation!?"

"I didn't know it was private," he stepped back. "Anyone could hear it if they wanted to, you are both projecting everywhere and not strictly between you two."

"Stop listening!," I demanded.

_"Alyson! You must not lose your head over this! It is imperative that we stay calm and try to understand the situation."_

I took a deep breath and faced Collin," How did you know about Luna?," I spoke through gritted teeth.

"Well there are many ways-"

"Skip the speech. Get to the point."

Collin sighed," The chat I have is not my only online resource into finding new riders. I own most of the websites about dragons and I go through them daily to see if any of the newcomers have knowledge of real dragons. If they do, I coax them into talking; most cases... actually 99% of cases are a bust with no leads and dead ends. In the rare case I think I've found another rider, I arrange a meeting with them an-"

"So you wanting to hang out with me was just a ploy?"

"No! No. No. No. I wanted to hang out with you, you were funny, smart, charming," Collin coughed and his chees grew pink," and a good friend."

"So you knew had a dragon from the start?"

"No. I didn't, I had suspicions which is why I wanted to meet you. I found out the first day we met," he looked to the ground.

"How?," I thought back to that day, _was it the claw marks?_

"No, I heard you talk to her... as we were walking up the trail, and I heard her response."

I was shocked, _that is so embarrassing that I can't talk just to Luna and that EVERYONE could hear us!_

"While we strolled through the woods I found more evidence of a dragon's existence, but your mark was the final piece I needed."

"How many other riders have you found?," I was scared to ask.

A grin tugged at his lips," I have found a few."

My jaw dropped," Seriously!? Are you serious?!"

_"That is amazing news! I could not be more happy at any other moment!"_

Collin chuckled," Will you listen to my story now?"

I pondered it for a moment," Fine, I will hear you out."

"Great. Come on, let's all sit closer together, he headed for his giant red steed.

I turned back to Luna,"_ Now it's your turn to stay calm. Don't aggravate the giant bully over there."_

_"I have no problem with him, he saw me attacking his rider and prevented it; I would have done the same to him."_

I walked slowly over to Collin until I stood beside him, in front of his dragon.

"Alyson, Luna, this is my dragon: Razor."

"Razor? It thought it was Rosco?"

Collin chuckled," Oh, yeah. Well I don't tell everything about myself on the internet," he smiled. "Besides, if it were up to me, I would have named him Rosco."

I looked at him like he was complete moron," It was up to you..."

"Not for me, Razor picked his own name."

"What?"

Collin realized he had to clarify for me," Dragons are smart ad know what they want, even from birth. In some rare cases, they let the owner pick the name; but usually they discover it on their own and inform their rider."

"In Eragon, Eragon picked Sapphira's name," I smirked feeling superior.

"It looks that way, doesn't it? But actually, Eragon suggested Sapphira's name and she liked it so she agreed to it. Razor here, told me his name."

"How did he pick Razor?"

_"It was my first sight as a hatchling," _the deep rumbling voice presented itself_. "I saw my rider shaving with a Razor and I saw him bleed from the cut of the blade. I hated the razor, I wanted nothing more to destroy it for the harm it bestowed on my rider. So I chose it as my name to show I would defend Collin from anything and everything."_

"Is.. is that Razor?," I asked stupidly to which Collin nodded. "Well you certainly did that today when you attacked Luna."

"I actually bought Razor at a mineral and rock auction," Collin admitted quickly to cover my bash on his dragon.

"Mineral and rock auction?," I raised an eyebrow. _I did not think Collin was a rock collection kind of guy..._

"I was there for my little brother, he is really into collecting stuff. Anyways, we saw this giant piece of Jasper stone, I mean huge! It was like 5 feet tall standing! My brother fell in love at first sight, so I bought it for him in secret. It was expensive, I mean really expensive. It is really unusual to find such a large piece of Jasper, but as we found out, it wasn't Jasper. It was a dragon."

"So your family knows that you have a dragon?"

"Uhm.. no," he spoke quietly." I live in, well lived in Rome with my family and-"

"Wait!," I interrupted," you lived in Europe! Where is your accent!"

He smiled and his dimples brightened his face," Not that Rome. Rome, New York."

"New York! Oh, wow... that's amazing."

"Not really, Rome was nothing like New York City."

"Oh...," I said dumbly.

"So, I bought the rock for my brother and took it home, I hid it until Christmas but the present came early," he turned and smiled to Razor. " I knew there was no way I could hid it from my family, so I bolted."

"You ran away?"

"Yes, I ran away 4 days before Christmas with no warning to anyone: not my family, not my friends, not anyone. I left a note saying I wasn't kidnapped, but that I needed to work some things out...," he was staring off into space.

It was obvious that the memory was tender, but I couldn't help myself," When was this? Have you ever gone back?"

"I was 16 and no. I never went back," his jaw was now clenched so I decided to lay off.

"So what's your big plan now?," I asked pushing the hair from my face.

"What do you mean?"

"Now that you know I have a dragon, what are you going to do with the information? Blackmail me? Force me to join your cult of dragons?"

_"Alyson!,"_ Luna gasped.

Collin looked surprised," Uhm.. no, nothing like that. I-I-I-...," he stopped. "No one has every been this... this upfront when they discover a new rider. Usually they are in awe and want to meet all the others, but you... you are different."

"Thanks? And I would like to meet other Rider's but where would we even do that? It's not like there is an annual rider's get together... is there?"

"Uhm... no," he smiled. "But you are one lucky girl because, normally, I don't bring other riders with me on a scouting mission..."

"But this time...?," I could feel my heart rate increase.

"This time exceptions were made," he smiled. "I'll signal them."

"Them!?"

_"Alyson, this is extraordinary! We will meet new dragons! DRAGONS! I'm not alone...," _Luna was bubbling.

_"I told you! I so called this! I just want that to be on record that I called this! I told you that you weren't alone!"_

_"Yes, yes: you are brilliant! But I am extremely uneasy right now!"_

_"You're just anxious. Take some deep breaths and calm down," _I told her while sending her tranquil images.

_"I could find a mate... I could have eggs... You could do the same. I am no longer a burden in your life!"_

_"You never were,"_ I assured her.

"Look up," Collin came up to us. I did as he requested to see what looked like birds circling in the sky, but I knew better. _Dragons. _I looked like there were three of them but as they got closer I saw only two. My cheeks were twitching with discomfort, I hadn't even realized that I was smiling so happily. The dragons descended towards us, their wings sending freezing tornados of air towards me. I shivered and hugged myself tighter while the ground rumbled from the dragons landing.

Collin ran up to them, yelling and waving. There was a dragon about the same size as Razor who was a pale pink with dazzling eyes that sparkled in the light. The way it stood and presented itself, made me believe it was a female. The other was more like Luna in size, slightly bigger, and it was a deep indigo color. I guessed it was male with it's dark color and shifty eyes. The riders both looked female; one with long dirty blonde hair falling to swell of her back, she was average height, and was very skinny. The other was shorter with short black curls and more of an hour glass figure.

_"How you doing Luna?"_

_"It's indescribable. Like a fantasy..."_

I smiled and leaned into her," _This is going to be interesting."_

_"Make you sure you make a good first impression," _Luna reminded.

_"Yes, mom!," _I laughed sarcastically.

"Alyson! Come here!," Collin waved over to me.

"Come one," I pushed off Luna and began the long walk to where the dragons huddled with their riders. It was only 50 meters away but I felt like I was on the longest runway in the world. All eyes were on Luna and I, judging and making assumptions. _God! What the fuck are they looking at! It's not like they've never seen a dragon before!_

"Alyson, this is Serena and Ashley," he gestured to the girls.

"Hi, I'm Serena," the shorter girl with curls smiled at me and held out her hand for me to shake. She was beautiful with a darker complection and brown compelling eyes.

I couldn't help but smile," Hey, I'm Alyson," I shook her hand.

"Ashley," the taller blonde said with a smirk, without extending a hand and while glancing at me from head to toe. _Well she's obviously a bitch._

"Ashley...," Collin said.

She turned to me again and put on a bright fake smile," So sorry! I'm Ashley," he grabbed my hand and shook. "I can't wait to get to know you and we can become life long best friends."

_Still a bitch._

_"_This is Luna," I stepped aside to give Luna room in the circle.

"_An honor to meet each of you_," Luna broadcasted confidently.

Serena stepped back and gestured to the dark purple dragon," This is my dragon. Her name is Verona," the dark dragon came forward and bowed her head.

"_It's a pleasure to meet you,"_ the silky voice relayed in my head. Looking at the dragon now, I was scolding myself for passing her off as a boy due to her dark color, she was beautiful and alluring, just like her rider.

"Lovely to meet you both," I smiled.

"This," Ashley presented her giant pink dragon," is Diamond; the most well known dragon is all of Alagaesia."

I curt laugh came out of my mouth, which cause Ashely to look at me with daggers.

"What's so funny?," she questioned.

_"Perhaps the child doesn't believe that I am he most ferocious creature to walk this earth! I am well known for all my talents: skill, stamina, strength_," A sultry voice slithered into the auditory center of my brain. _Why does she sound like she is trying to seduce me?!_

"Nothing. Not to be rude to you or your dragon, but...," I held in my giggles. "It's just that... you know Alagaesia isn't real right? That it's in a story and doesn't exist," I spoke slowly so she would grasp my words.

Serena turned to Collin," You haven't told her?"

"It hadn't come up yet," Collin muttered.

"Told me what?," I crossed my arms and faced Collin.


	20. Chapter 20

"Alyson, there is a lot going on r-right now and I-I didn't want to overwhelm you with d-details that aren't important," Collin was stammering through his excuse.

I scowled at him,"I want to know! What minor details? What's going on?"

"Well... the thing is... it's a really long story and I-"

"Just tell me," I cut him off.

Serena stepped in," Do you know who Christopher Paolini is?"

_Do I? Sounds familiar..._ "Uhm, I think so."

"He is the author of the Inheritance Cycle; he wrote the books about Eragon," she explained.

"Okay," I was waiting for a better explanation to follow.

Now it was Collin's turn," In his story he wrote about Alagaesia; the elves, the cities, the battles," I was nodding showing I followed. "Well, I don't want to shock you, but Christopher Paolini is an elf."

"An elf?," I repeated to which all three of the nodded. "Like an elf that he wrote about in his books? A real elf."

"Yes, an elf," Ashley sounded annoyed.

"He used to live in Alagaesia," Serena continued," He was very wise and very well know throughout Alagaesia. He was the most important scribe during the battles against Gallobrix. Durind his time traveling with Eragon they grew very close, as well as with Arya and Nasuada."

"Wait, wait wait. Your saying that Chrispher Paolini, the author, is an elf from an imaginary land?," I scoffed.

"Well... yes. Alyson, it's true," Collin tried to convince me.

"Let me finish, okay," Serena interjected calmly. " Once Eragon defeated Gaollobrix and freedom rang throughout Alagaesia, they no longer needed a scribe to document the battles and describe the journey to victory. Christopher became jealous and began planning his revenge; he knew he could no longer stay in Alagaesia or anywhere near it, he had to leave forever. He found a spell that would open a portal to another dimension, so he used it, but not before stealing 6 dragon eggs."

"Wait, he stole dragon eggs? Like from the Vault of Souls?!," I was intrigued but shook my head from the crazy. "You guys are insane! This isn't real!"

_"Alyson!,"_ Luna was scolded me like a mother.

"Shut up!," Ashley was upset. "How can you say we're crazy? You have a fucking dragon! We all have dragons, this is fucking real. So shut up and listen," she then turned her attention to he nails, examining and picking at them.

"Not from the vault, but from Eragon personally," Serena slowly started filling the awkward silence," Eragon was just about to leave Alagaesia to find his new land, to train the new riders when Christopher stole the eggs. It caused a massive uproar but no one could find Christopher anywhere, he had vanished. Raiding his house, Eragon found his spell book and they knew what he had done; after months of the council at each other's throats, Nasuada decided to send soldiers to this new realm."

"What?! There were real Alagaesian soldiers here!? On Earth?!"

"Yes, for a very short time. They scouted and saw that this world was nothing like their own. They saw machines and animals they had never seen back home; it frightened them so they retreated after a few hours. That's when they discovered the time difference between the two places; a few hours here, was almost a day in Alagaesia. Nasuada decided that this world was not one they wanted war with, so she sent scholars to observe it's culture and rituals in secret. They spent many years here and when they returned, it had been decades since their depature. The scholars reported their knowledge, the worst news being that dragons did not exist in this world and if they were to be discovered, who knows what this new planet would do."

Collin jumped in," Everyone agreed that they had to retrieve the dragon eggs as soon as possible without causing alarm to the population of the new world. They planned for years on how to find Christopher, but came up with no theories. His name had not been Christopher when he was an elf: it had been Tarathi. He had vanished and there was no way to find him, he had changed his name, his identity, his entire life. Then, the council were blessed with a miracle, Christopher had become famous in this new world by publishing a book: Eragon. That was very upsetting to everyone in Alagaesia, they were terrified that humans would figure out that it was all real and attack. They tracked down Christopher and Eragon himself paid him a visit, but he refused to give the location of the eggs. Christopher had gone mad it seemed, saying he wanted to spread the love of the Riders to a new world. All of Alagaesia agreed that this would not be tolerated and that they would retrieve the eggs and bring them back to where they belonged with or without the help of the elf."

"But what about Chrisopher Paolini!? They just let him go like it was nothing! He still lives here on Earth, he got no consequences?!," I was outraged. "And how did he even fit in here!? He has a family and a life, you can't just make that up!"

"Actually, you can. Christopher used a very dark and powerful spell to become an infant. He actually made himself into an embryo and implanted himself inside of a human woman, so that he would be a child of this world."

"That's disgusting!," I was nauseous at the thought. _How could someone be so demented...?_

_"He should have to pay for that crime,"_ Luna huffed.

"Yeah, its fucked up what he did," Collin agreed. "Especially not knowing if this would kill the mother or any other complications."

"But it gave him the perfect background, it helped him learn about this world, and give him shelter from Alagaesia. The spell was brilliant, it let him retain all his knowledge of his past life while absorbing the new knowledge from this one," Serena stated. "As for consequences, no, he had already caused Alagaesia enough damage. Eragon knew there was no way to get back the knowledge of the books already published and they couldn't take him back to Alagaesia so Eragon left him here in this world, taking all his magic so he could never return. Christopher swore that he would write nothing more about Alagaesia, and once Eragon found out that no one believed his stories were real, they left him. The only thing left was the-."

"The dragon eggs! You never found them did you!?," I glanced to Luna.

"Obviously," Ashely rolled her eyes.

"No, it was impossible to find where Christopher had stashed the eggs," Serena said.

"And the council never made him tell?!"

"He refused any contact with Alagaesia after Eragon visited him, no one saw him after that and since the council wanted no attention from this world, they didn't bother him further."

"So you were forced to find they eggs after they had hatched...," I deducted.

"Yes," Collin admitted," which has taken many years. Christopher came here in the year 1976, hatched his plan and began his spell; he was "born" in 1983. We didn't find him until 2002 when he published his book. It's been about 50 years and we finally found the last dragon planted on Earth," Collin smiled triumphantly. " Alagaesia has been waiting 300 years for this..."

"Woah! 300 years! I thought you said 50!"

"1 year here is 6 years in Alagaesia," Ashley stated.

"Oh...," was all I could say._ Can I believe this!? That is crazy! It sounds like... it sounds insane! But, it could be true. Why would they lie? Can Alagaesia be real?_

The wind picked up again and I shivered at it's icy touch, Collin saw my reaction and took his leather jacket and wrapped it around me. I blushed at the gesture, _Darion had never done anything like that for me. _When I turned back to Serena I saw Ashley's face was stern and contorted, she glared and me with rage. _What's her problem?_

"I didn't want to spring all of that on you," Collin said. "It seemed like to much to absorb."

"Yes... yes it is," I admitted," but I'm glad that I know."

_"That means there are more dragons_?," Luna asked.

"Oh yes," Serena smiled, "There a hundreds, maybe thousands!"

I felt Luna's emotions skyrocket and her pulse quicken, _I'm happy for her!_

"Do_ you think we could go and see them!?,"_ Luna was practically begging.

"No!," I said quickly.

"What?," Collin seemed shocked.

"I mean, we can't just leave and go to Alagaesia. We're here."

"That's the beauty of it! You could spend all day in Alagaeisa and only be gone for a few hours! Don't worry, it's summer there too, so it won't be too hot in what you're wearing. Alagaesia is so beautiful... it makes you never want to leave," Serena reminisced.

_No! We can't go! I can't... I wouldn't even know where to begin there... Elfs? Urgals? Dragons? No way!_

"It's getting late," I announce," I have to get home."

"But-"

"I can't go," I left no room for suggestions. I turned and began to walk away from the group of riders.

"Too bad," Ashley said but didn't mean.

Collin ran up after me," Alyson! Come on, Alyson!," he got in front of me. "Can we at least meet up tomorrow? Just to talk, no pressure."

I considered it, _They will try to convince me to go... _ "I don't know..."

"Please," Collin was wide eyed and pleading," Please?"

I rolled my eyes," Fine. I'll meet you again tomorrow, here, at noon," I side stepped and continued on the path that lead home.

"_Alyson,"_ Luna sounded upset. "_Why are so set on staying here."_

_"I don't want to go, Luna. I can't, it's just... too much."_

_"But Alyson... there are other dragons, other riders... you could finally get all the answers you've been asking for. This is our opportunity to...,"_ Luna sighed._ "I won't lie, I want this mostly for myself. I dream to meet dragons, fly with them, talk with them, live with them. It is all I want..."_

I felt horrible,"_ I know Luna, I do. I just... I don't good with new people. I never make a good first impression! I don't think I could handle the stress of meeting so many new people and visiting a foreign world! I have horrible anxiety, you know that... I don't want to keep you from this opportunity Luna, but I don't think I can go."_

_"I would not go without you," _she spoke with absolute certainty. _"Please? I ask for nothing from you and you still give me everything... You are the best rider I know and the only one I care for. Please, will you go with me on this journey?"_

I sighed and smiled_," Luna, why do you make things so difficult?"_

_"Is that a yes!?"_

_"That is a maybe."_

Luna rumbled with joy,_" Thank you, Acorn."_

_"Don't thank me yet..."_

I walked the rest of the way home in silence, thinking of every possible thing that could happen if I went to Alagaesia._ I could be killed there! and my family would never know why I never came home! What if I never wanted to leave? What if they would never let me leave? What if Luna fell in love, I could never ask her to abandon her mate... What if I fell in love?!_ I snorted at the thought, _as if. There is too much that could go wrong..._

When I got home my mom lectured me on being late, I didn't really listen and then drudged upstairs. I there Collin's coat on my chair ad fell onto my bed, _Maybe good things could happen there, too... Like maybe I could learn more about dragons. Luna could finally be wit her kind and stop feeling alone. It's too much to ask her stay..._

I fell asleep with my clothes on, on top of the covers. When I woke up, it was already 10:30; I raced to take a shower and picked out some random shorts and shirt. I was on my way out when I caught a glimpse of myself in my mirror, I looked hideous. I had red blemished all over my face, my eyes were droopy and tired;_ I have to put some makeup on!_ Checking the time it was already 11:15, _I'll be quick._ I put on concealer, foundation, cover-up, blush, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick on record time and then dashed out the door before anyone could ask any questions.

The day was bright and sunny, with puffy white clouds floating through the sky. The birds were chirping playfully while squirrels skittered from tree to tree; I was too nervous about today to notice the beauty of my surroundings. I entered the wide open space of dead grass and saw Serena, Ashley, and Collin all standing on the other side waiting for me; their dragons were all resting peacefully.

_"Luna, I'm here... Where are you?"_

_"Descending_," was all she said. Before I could look up to see her, she had landed gracefully beside me and folded her wings.

"Showoff," I smirked.

_"Let us keep an open mind about today_," she ignored me.

I strolled over to the other riders, as Luna approached the gathering of dragons.

"Glad you made it," Serena smiled.

"Here I am," I shrugged awkwardly.

"Alyson, I know I said we wouldn't pressure you about this, but it's very important," Collin started off right away.

"I don't even get a 'hi, how you doing?'," I taunted.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hi. I have talked to Luna and I've decided to visit, but just for a day."

"That's great!," Serena hugged me.

"Yeah, I'm glad you agreed."

"Not like she had a choice" Ashley muttered.

"Excuse me?," I was not putting up with her today.

She turned to me, unamused," I said: It's not like you had a choice, we can't leave you here. We have orders to bring yo-"

"Shut up Ashley," Serena snapped.

"Wait? You have orders to take me!?"

Collin sighed," Unfortunately, yes. The council wants all riders returned to Alagaesia."

"Well I'm not from there, so I will not be returning!," I crossed my arms. "They cant make me!"

"Alyson, we can't leave you here," Collin said calmly. "Besides, you already said you would come visit."

"I don't like to be ordered to do anything," I said glaring. "I don't have to do anything I don't want to."_ I sound like a brat! But it's true.. this council can't force me to go._

"Alyson, the council won't let you stay here! They've risked to much to ensure all eggs are brought home," Serena explained.

"I thought today there would be no pressure," I turned to Collin.

"There wasn't going to be any, you agreed to go!"

I sighed," So, if I go for a day, I'll be back in 4 hours?" I was defeated, there was no way around this; better to get it done and over with.

"Come back? Why would you come back?," Ashley sounded disgusted by the idea.

"Because I have a life here, a family!"

"Alyson, it might take longer than a day before you could come back...," Serena said looking the ground.

"What? Then I'm not going!," I raised my hands.

"You have to come...," Serena sounded disappointed.

"No, I don't!"

"Alyson, if you don't come with us, they will send someone else to get you. They'll bring soldiers to raid your house and harm your family until they find you and bring you back! Either way, you have to come to Alagaesia," Collin was trying to persuade me with the easy route.

"No!," I felt tears sting my eyes. "I have a life here! I can't leave!"

"We all had lives here...," Serena put a hand on my shoulder," but we made new ones, better ones in Alagaesia."

"I would never come back...," my voice cracked as I said the words aloud.

"It's not up to us," Collin said softly. "The council might allow you to visit from time to time."

"Unlike you," I pointed at Collin," I have family that I love and want to be with!"

My words hit Collin like a slap, I could see the hurt I had bestowed. _Shit! That was a mistake. "_Collin, I'm sorry-"

He held up his hand," Stop. Just stop."

I gulped back the tears and whispered," I can't abandon my family..."

"You won't," Serena confirmed. " I still go see my sister every Thanksgiving."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they let us come back for holiday's and major occasions," she smiled reassuringly.

"I'll go for one day," I agreed. "I have to be home by 5."

"Alright then, let's go," Serena whistled and Verona's head shot up and she trotted over to her rider. She mounted her dragon while Ashley and Collin did the same, I walked over to Luna, my eyes still wet with tears.

"_Take me home," _I said, focusing my energy directly at her. I hoped my message wouldn't broadcast to everyone.

"_WHAT? What about Alagaesia?"_

_"It can wait... my family won't."_

_"As you wish..,"_ she said.

"ALL READY," Collin asked loudly.

I nodded along with the others and we took off into the air, the rushing sound of the wind was all I could hear and I watched the dragons ascend into the sky. I noticed each dragon had their own style to flying; Verona was gracefully, Razor was strategic and Diamond flew to impress, like a show pony almost. Luna and I flew behind the others, she flew slower and slower until they were a farther away.

_"NOW!,"_ I screamed to Luna. She dropped from the pack silently, they had yet to notice and she raced through the canopy back towards my house. I grabbed her horns and fell against her scales, hoping this would increase her speed, I glanced back and didn't see anyone. I took a sigh of relief, _thank god._

_"Hurry Luna! Hurry!" _Her wings flapped violently and she flew eagerly back to my house, when I saw it my heart raced with joy. Luna hovered above the ground and I jumped off," Go to your cave! Hide until I call for you!" For once, she didn't argue, she turned and flew towards the mountains.

I didn't have time to feel bad, I ran up the steps but stopped at the door,_ What am I going to say? I can't tell them why I'm leaving and I can't stay here... I'll have o lie. Say something stupid like you're going to college_, I convinced myself as I stepped into my house and locked the door. "MOM? DAD?"

"What? What's wrong?," my mom ran in from the kitchen.

"Nothing mom," I smiled but I felt my eyes water, thinking this is may be the last time I'll see her. I wanted nothing more than t tell her everything: my dragon, Alagaesia, leaving forever, but I couldn't. No way I could tell her. I knew I couldn't just leave her either, not without an explanation but all I could hear was Collin's voice in my head:_ They'll bring soldiers to raid your house and harm your family until they find you and bring you back! Either way, you have to come to Alagaesia..._

"Alyson? You're crying! Tell me! Are you alright?," my mom hugged me close. I wrapped my arms around her and pushed the tears back, plastered on a fake smile and stepped away.

"It's good new mom!," I tried sounding happy.

"Really? What is it!?," she smiled.

"I got an early admission letter from...er from," _Shit, college far away.. WHAT'S A COLLEGE FAR AWAY!? Iowa? NO! Colorado? NO! Maine... Maine is far!_ " From the University of Maine," I smiled. _Is that even a school?_

"Maine?! You want to go to school in Maine!"

"Mom, it's the best school! They sent me an email about how that want to except me with almost no cost!," I was lying big time now. "They want me to go out there to see the camps and talk about my class schedule! They bought me a plane ticket and everything!," I jumped with pretend joy. _I'm doing this for you... I'm doing this for you..._

"Alyson, that's... that's wonderful, but Maine? Really?," she asked. "I didn't even know you applied there."

"Yes mom, I applied in secret because I didn't want to be embarrassed if they didn't except me!" _I feel so bad, I want to tell you! But I can't! I don't want you to know... I want you to stay safe._

My mom's face lit up," Of course they accepted you! I'm so proud honey!" she hugged me again.

I buried my face into her shirt, _I love you mom! I'm so sorry.._


	21. Chapter 21

_"They are here,"_ Luna reminded me.

_"I know, thank you."_

I walked to my window and pulled the lace curtains to peek outside I wanted to see them, but they camouflaged into the trees brilliantly. I sighed, _there is nothing I can do. No amount of running will fix this mess, they will find me. _For the hundredth time that day, I felt the salty tears flow down my face, I didn't bother to wipe them away knowing full well that they would be replaced in a matter of minutes.

_"We will return_," Luna spoke confidently. "_They will not keep us from out home."_

I left the window and sat at my desk, staring at my laptop; I had already finished writing the fake acceptance letter after I had researched and found of that The University of Maine was in fact real. It wasn't as hard as I originally thought, I sighed again and ran my fingers through my hair, _this is ridiculous. I should just tell my parents! They would understand and Luna would help protect them... but we would be nothing compared to three trained dragons... I have to do this, there is nothing else I can do. This is for my family. _I printed the paper and went to buy a plane ticket. _Not even going to use it, but hey! Why not waste more of my life to help people basically kidnap me!_

There a knock on my door, I shut the laptop," Come in."

"Hey there college girl," my dad came in smiling.

I smiled and looked to the ground, it was getting harder and harder to lie to them.

"So, your mother and I wanted to know if you anted to go celebrate? Or maybe go shopping?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," I plastered the familiar fake smile on my face. "We can go shopping when I get back."

"Back? When are you leaving?"

"It's actually really rushed," I tried to explain the elaborate lie. "I haven't checked my email all summer, like an idiot. They accepted me awhile ago and I just found out the other day. The plane ticket is actually for Thursday, I'll be there for a week of orientation and everything then I can come back and we'll shop!"

"THURSDAY!? ALYSON! IT'S TUESDAY!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry to spring this on you, but look," I said excitedly and handed him the acceptance letter I had forged.

My dad read it and then smiled," We are so proud of you, Alyson! I have to go show your mother," he practically ran back into the hall.

As soon as his back was turned, the smile fell; I wasn't worried about them seeing it was fake, I had even printed the logo onto the paper and copied the administrators signature, it was very convincing.

_"It's the right thing,"_ Luna said.

_"I know, it is the right thing... but why does it feel so wrong."_

_"The best decisions have the most affect on life."_

_"Then why does anyone pick the best decision!? Why not pick the shitty one and have nothing affect you_," I whined.

_"Then life would not be a journey worth traveling."_

_"That's stupid_," I grumbled.

She chuckled," _But it is true."_

_"How is progress,"_ Razor's deep loud voice boomed into my head, drowning all sounds of Luna out.

_"GET OUT!,"_ I yelled into his subconscious.

_"Collin wants to know what is happening," _he ignored me.

_"COLLIN CAN GO SUCK A DICK FOR ALL I CARE!_," I was angry._ "I'M BUSY TRYING TO PUT MY LIFE ON HOLD FOR HIM AND HIS STUPID ALAGAESIA!"_

_"So, it is going well," _Razor inferred.

I sighed,"_ Everything is on schedule, I'll be ready to leave by Thursday..."_

_"Very well,"_ he then retreated from my mind.

I thought back to yesterday, remembering when I had ran from the others Riders, of course they had noticed my absence and went to my house to retrieve me. I went out and explained to them I wasn't going to just leave and never return, my family deserved better. I told them of my plan, telling them I was going to college and would return in a week. Ashley didn't like having to wait around for me, she had wanted to return to Alagaesia as soon as they found me.

"Tough shit," I told her, "I'm not leaving without a proper goodbye."

"Then get it over with," she had spat at me.

"I am! I will leave on Thursday, no sooner."

"Thursday," Collin shifted his balance, considering my proposition.

"Collin!," Ashley shrieked, horrified that he was actually thinking about it. "That's like 3 days away! You're going to make the council wait?"

"They waited this long, what's 18 more days?"

"Thank you," I grabbed his hands in mine and looked him in the eye. "Thank you so much."

"Go," he smiled and I ran back into the house and locked the door.

I shook the memory from my mind and pulled my suitcase from my closet, throwing random clothes in to fill the space. _What do I even pack for Alagaesia? Don't they were tunics and stuff? Serena says its summer, so shorts will be good._ I shut the suit case and put it on the floor under my window, I pulled the curtains back all the way the light flooding my small dark room. _No point in hiding._

I went downstairs to see my parents watching Law and Order, I sit in the chair to watch with them.

"Hi there my old daughter," my mom turned and smiled at me. "All grown up and going to college."

"Hey," I smiled in return.

Mom shifted from under my dad's arm," your father tells me that you are leaving on Thursday for Maine."

"Well, yeah, but I'll be back next Friday," I turn my attention back to the TV, trying to end the conversation.

"Do you need anything? Shots or..?"

"Mom," I chuckled," It's Maine, not Nigeria."

"Right," she shrugged," But you have a plane ticket."

"Yes, I do, The University bought it."

"Sounds like they really want you to attend!," my mom sounded so pleased.

"I am attending, I was accepted; that's why I'm going to orientation."

"Wow... Maine. That's so far away...," my mom's mood dropped.

"Don't worry," I reached out to stoke her knee," I'll still visit all the time!"

"You say that now..."

"I promise," I said sternly.

My mom nodded and shifted back to snuggle next to my father, I knew she didn't want me to leave and travel so far away. I wanted to tell them the truth, but I knew it woulnd't help. Looking at my parents so in love, I felt blessed; not many parents were still so affectionate as mine were. It was moments like this I realized I would miss the most: just my simple family, living boring day to day lives. From what I read, there is nothing dull about Alagaesia, there is always something to disturb the peace.

I leaned back into the chair and enjoyed one of my last simple moments with my parents, drinking in the normality of the scene. When the show ended, my parents gathered the boys and we all went to town to celebrate my acceptance into college with ice cream.

"I want a double scoop of chocolate!," Asher said excitedly.

"I hope you brought your money," my mom scoffed.

"What!?," he whined.

"You need to get a job," my dad said. "Until then, one scoop."

Asher grumbled, then Ajax spoke up," Aw, the little baby's pouting."

"Shut up!," Asher snapped.

"Such harsh words for such a little guy," Ajax ruffled Asher's hair.

"You want to see how little I am," Asher raised his hands into a fighting position.

"Little bro wants to play?," Ajax cocked an eyebrow and raised his fists.

"Settle down," my dad warned and the boys burst into laughter.

"Dad's always here to save you from an ass whopping," Ajax pushed Asher playfully.

"As if! He just doesn't want you to look like a fool and get beat on by your little brother."

I couldn't help but laugh at their childishness, _I'll miss these idiots..._

"You alright?," Arien nudged me.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You look like you're about to cry!"

"What," I laughed," No, I'm fine."

"Don't be scared. College is great," Arien said happily. "You meet new people and find new things you never thought you would like! I can't wait for August so I can go back."

"So what I'm hearing is that you don't like being here at home?," I teased.

"No, I like it. But at college I don't fight everyone for a shower, there are plenty for everyone," he laughed and I laughed with him. "Don't be worried about it, okay?"

"Yeah, I won't."

"She won't have to be scared," Arsen came up on my other side.

"Oh?," Arien questioned.

"Yeah, because I got her this," Arsen handed me a gold chain with a charm on it.

"Ahh, yes," Arien mocked," How could she not stay safe with a necklace. Very protective."

"It is," Arsen grabbed the charm, which wasn't really pretty. It was a cylinder, it was fairly large and it was gold just like the chain. "It's pepper spray," he explained," All you have to do it rip the chain off, press down on the top and no one it coming near you," he smiled triumphantly.

"Wow, thank you!," I stopped and hugged him for his thoughtful gift.

He hugged me back," Got to keep the baby sister safe and that's hard to do when she's in Maine."

I stepped back," I just told you about my acceptance... how did you...?"

"I know a guy," Arsen winked.

I clipped the chain behind my neck and felt the pendant, _no one will even know!_

_"They are following you," _Luna informed me.

_"Figures,"_ I replied exhausted of them._ "They can't just let me be."_

_"Perhaps they think you will flee?"_

_"To an ice cream parlor?!"_

_"We are both being irritated," _Luna grumbled.

_"Huh?"_

_"Diamond: all she does is complain, it annoys me. She disrespects my home and with it she disrespects me."_

_"Don't let her get to you, we'll be gone soon and you can diss Alagaesia as much as you want."_

_"Thursday could not come sooner."_

_Yes, it could..._

We got our ice cream and began the slow walk back to the mountain, absorbed in our own silence while consuming the frozen treat. My mom suddenly spoke while we turned up our road," I'm so proud!," she said. "My babies, all of you. Ajax: you are growing up still, but for some it takes longer. I'm still watching you become a man and everyday you surprise me," Ajax chuckled, he was used to us all teasing him for doing nothing. "Asher is at college here; Arsen, Arien, and Alyson are spread across the country. Who knows the next time we will all be together," she started to get choked up by the moment. "I love you all and I'm so proud." My dad grabbed her hand and she wiped the tears escaping her eyes, I walked over and hugged her. I buried my face in her shirt, _she's proud of me... she's proud of a lie._

"Thanks mom," Arien smiled. "I love you, too."

"We all love you!," Asher shouted happily and hugged my mom carefully as to not drop his ice cream cone.

"Come on, let's get home! We can have a movie night!," Arsen suggested, which was met with nods.

_Great... a family night. Just what I need, more guilt._

* * *

_*****Author's Note*****_

Sorry this chapter kind of sucked... I didn't want to sweep Alyson up to Alagaesia without some emotional torment, but as you can tell, I kind of suck at it. The chapter is super short, and I apologize; but I really didn't know what else to write about. Alyson was successful tormented by lying to her family so it was somewhat of a victory.

Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what you think so far! What do you think is going to happen?


	22. Chapter 22

_"Acorn... Acorn_," I could hear Luna's voice humming my pet name.

_No! It can't be morning yet! I just went to sleep!_

_"Ahh, but it is. The day has finally come and you must rise."_

_"I can sleep a few more minutes," _I snuggled deeper into my bed.

_"Yes, you could, but know that everyone here grows impatient... especially the pink one."_

I opened my eyes just to roll them," _Oh, we couldn't have that, could we?"_

_"Certainly not. This forest is no good for her or her rider, it is not to their satisfaction."_

_"Boohoo," _I mocked, climbing from the bed. I looked at my clock, 8:45.

Right on cue my mom knocks on my door," Alyson, wake up! I hope you packed last night because you need to be at the airport by 11:00, we leave in an hour. Get up!"

I groaned out loud, _An hour! _I went to the bathroom, but Arien was sill waiting by the door for his turn. I walked by him and pounded on the door," HURRY UP! I HAVE TO LEAVE!"

"CALM DOWN, ARIEN! YOU SOUND LIKE A GIRL, I'M ALMOST DONE!," Arsen called out to me.

Arien snickered and looked to the floor, I was in no mood today. I was going to knock again, but I heard the water stop and knew he had finished.

"I hope you know that I am cutting in line," I informed Arien.

"Hell no! I've been waiting since 7 to use the shower!"

"Well I have to be at the airport in an hour, so I win!," I said as the door to the bathroom opened. I didn't wait for a response, I slipped in as Arsen was going out, shut the door and locked it.

"ALYSON! ALYSON! THAT'S NOT FAIR!," Arien pounded on the door and I smirked while stepping into the shower.

I only took a 10 minute shower to do the basics: shave, wash, clean. _Do they have showers in Alagaesia? I think they bathed in the rivers and ponds. Shit, I need to pack shampoo._ I turned off the water, wrapped my body in a towel and left the bathroom.

"There better be hot water left!," Arien called angrily.

"Calm down," I said as I shut my door. Looking at the clock it was 9:02, _Okay, I have time._

I got dressed quickly, throwing on my favorite pair of skinny jeans and an Illumanti sweater that I had stolen from my friends house. It was really sunny out, but I knew that when I rode Luna, it was freezing! I brushed my hair, grabbed my luggage and went down stairs.

"That's a lot of bags!," Ajax noticed.

"Yeah, do you want to help me with them?!," I was struggling on the stairs.

"Nah, you're doing fine," he turned back to the TV.

I rolled my eyes and continued to heave the bags to the door, _Why can't I have rolling suitcases!?_

My dad walked out from the kitchen, "I'll take those to the car, you go eat something before we go."

"Thanks," I walked away from the door and into the kitchen. I was surprised that mom hadn't made breakfast, a big going away feast, so I had to settle with a bowl of cocoa puffs.

My brother, as always, was watching reruns of Tosh.0 so I took out my phone to scroll through Facebook. A lot was happening: Mara was having the time of her life in the Bahamas, my other friend Nicole was at her family's lake house upstate, and my last close friend, Arianna, had bought an apartment with her boyfriend.

_Too bad I can't take pictures of Alagaesia and post them, then people would see me having an exotic vacation._ I was stupidly curious about Darion, so I went to his profile, regretting it as soon as it loaded. There on his timeline was pictures of him and Gwen, status tagged with Gwen, even his profile picture and cover photo was him and Gwen! _GROSS! _I scrolled down seeing more and more pictures of them looking stupid together, it took a lot to not throw up into my cereal. They were officially dating, since 5 days ago._ Wow, he really wasn't kidding. He is way too vengeful, I need to get Luna out of here now before he gets too carried away!_

"Come on! Come on!," my mom was pushing Asher and Arsen down the stairs.

"Do we have to go?!," Asher complained," Can't we say goodbye here?"

My mom thumped him on the back of his head," No! You are going to the airport to say goodbye! We would have done the same for you, but you can just walk to your campus."

"Fine! Fine!," Asher rubbed the back of his head.

"It's 9:30 people!," my dad announced. "Commence the loading of the vehicle!"

"Hey dad, can I drive," Ajax asked while getting off the couch.

"No, we want to get there on time and alive."

"Alyson, are you ready?," My mom came over and rubbed my back.

"Yeah," I put my phone down," Let's do it!"

"This is so exciting! I remember doing this for Arien and Arsen! But we didn't have to go the airport, they drove. Ugh... why did you have to chose Maine?," my mom voice was breaking.

"Mom! Mom, stop. It's a great school and I'm going to do great things there! I will always come home for holidays, I promise!," I gave her a hug and she hugged me back tightly.

"You better," she whispered.

"Are you two ready!?," my dad was excited.

Mom stepped back and wiped away her tears," Yes. I'm ready."

"Let's go!," I smiled, but I was anything but happy.

My dad clapped his hands loudly," Alright! Let's hit the road!"

_"What's the plan?,"_ I broadcasted the message to everyone awaiting in the forest.

"_We'll follow you in a van and once you're parents are gone, we will pull up and you will come with us,"_ a sweet voice relayed.

_"And the dragons?"_

_"They will wait here for our return."_

_"Awesome."_

The drive to the airport was long and loud, my brothers were arguing about who the all time best basketball player was, my dad was starting to get into it too. Mom had turned on the radio and was singing along loudly to the country music while I sat there, texting my friends.

**I'm so excited for you!,** Mara messaged me, **Maine! That's crazy!**

**You seem to be living it up yourself.**

**YES! The Bahamas are beautiful, we have to move here!**

**Oh, really?**

**YES REALLY! The food is fantastic, the beaches are breath taking and the guys are incredibly hot. You'll forget all about Darion.**

**That's just what I need.**

**Yeah, he is a total tool! You deserve better!**

**Thanks, Mar.**

**I gotta go, we are about to go zip lining!**

**Have fun! Be Safe!**

**Always and NEVER! :D**

"Alright, Alyson," my mom turned off the radio which meant she wanted to talk. _Great.. _"Do you know where you're going?"

"Yes."

"I don't want you to get lost and miss your flight. Maybe we should go in with you and wait with you?"

I was about to object when my dad cut in," No, dear. Alyson will be fine. We have to let her do this, unless you ant us to come with you," he glanced back at me.

"No," I sighed with relief. "I can do this! I want to do this!"

"Alrighty then," my dad turned off the exit ramp to the airport.

The last few minutes, everyone was quiet as we pulled into the drop off zone. Everyone got out and started passing my bags to the curb, when the car was clean we all stood there.

"Alyson, are you sure you don't want us to go with you?," my mom was obviously worried.

"She'll be fine mom," Arien said. "We'll miss you," he hugged me tightly then stepped back.

"See you in a week," Asher gave his goodbye.

One by one they all did until it was my mom's turn, she was already crying," Mom! I'll be back next week!"

"I know! It's just... I know the day is coming where we watch you board a plan and you won't be coming back..."

This brought tears to my eyes,"...Mom...," I hugged her tightly. "I'll miss you so much."

"I love you!"

"I love you, too!"

We held the hug then stepped back and for a second time today wiped the tears from our face.

"Okay, be safe. Call when you land and once everyday that your there."

"Calm down, Mom," Ajax tried but my dad shook his head, knowing it would only upset her more.

"Have a safe flight," she grasped me again.

"I will, mom," I gave her a half hug as I picked up my luggage. "I'll call you when I land. I love you."

"BYE!," everyone called back to me while waving.

I waved as the automatic doors opened and I was hit with the strong gust of cold air. It sent a shiver down my spine, but I kept walking so my family wouldn't think I was scared. I turned right so I would be hidden from their view, it was hard to keep walking with everyone pushing and shoving to get past. My bags were heavy, I scanned the row of chairs that lined the wall, but all of them were full; teens on their phone, old couples and squealing children.

_I guess I'll stand..._

"Excuse me miss...," I turn to see an airport personnel standing there. "Do you need help finding the luggage check in?"

"Uhmm, no. No thank you. I'm fine," I struggled holding all my bags and finding my words.

"Of course, have a nice day," he turned and walked away.

_Okay... they should be gone by now, right? _I turn to the front doors, taking slow steps towards the exit. I peek around the door, the van was gone. I sighed with relief, _thank god. Where the hell is Collin?_ I go outside and stand there like an idiot, but people walk in and out like I'm not even there. I pull out my phone so I don't look completely stupid and take a picture of the airport to put on Snapchat. _Now it looks like I actually did something this summer..._

"Having fun?"

I jump at the sudden voice speaking to me, _Collin. _I pray that I didn't show how nervous I really was," Oh yeah, it's so much fun to be kidnaped."

"Alyson, don't think of it like that. Here," he took some of my bags," Let me carry some."

"How am I supposed to think of it then?"

Collin began walking away from the drop off zone with me hot on his heels," It's like a vacation! A Vacation that only 5 other humans in the entire world has seen."

"As long as I get to come home next week, I don't care."

"Awesome," he smiled at me, but I turned away.

"Come on!," Ashley called out of the passenger window of an old red station wagon. I saw Serena in the backseat rolling her eyes at Ashley's impatience but when she saw me she smiled and waved excitedly. I rose my hand weakly as a response,_ is that his car? Damn, its ugly._

It was a gross burnt red color with the paint chipping away everywhere. The rust was eating away at the car's exterior but the only thing I saw was the hideous strip of fake wood along the car's side. _It's so tacky! I hate it! _Collin dragged my bags to the trunk and started loading them.

"This is why you didn't want to drive around the first time we met, huh?," I asked while shoving my carry-on on top of the pile.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because this car is atrocious."

"Don't say that. It has character," he grinned and shut the trunk.

I got backseat, next to Serena, which was fine by me. I did not want to sit by Ashley or by Collin, all I wanted was to be on a plane so I could be flying away from this mess. No one spoke the whole way back, it was weird for me, I was used to listening to 5 conversation at once while being in the car. With them, the radio played softly and that was it, no point in talking when it will only cause an argument.

When we got back in town, I had to la down in the back with a blanket over me so no one would see me and tell my parents I was still in town. Collin took one of the back roads up the mountain, one that most kids took to find a hidden party or a good hookup spot.

_"Luna."_

_"Are you here?"_

_"Yes, I'm here."_

_"I am very excited to travel!"_

I smiled,"_ I know, I can't wait for you to make all these new friends in Alagaesia."_

_"I already have a friend, Verona and I are very similar."_

_"Verona? That's Serena's dragon."_

_"Yes," _she giggled.

_"Yeah, Serena is the closest thing I have to a friend in this car."_

_"What about Collin?"_

_"Collin... he is just a manipulator to get what he wants," _I turned my gaze to him, watching as he carefully turned into the grass.

I was the first one out of the car, walking briskly away to the gaggle of dragons on the other side of the field. Luna was not as patient, she jumped up and glided over to me on the breeze.

"_I am so happy to see you're face again_," she rubbed her muzzle on my head.

_"I missed you too_," I wrapped my arms around her rough face.

"Alright gang," Collin clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. " Alyson, Luna is too small to carry you and your many bags, so Razor will carry them for you." I heard Luna growl in he throat, obviously insulted by Collin's words. "Once we get loaded up, were off to Alagaesia. Serena will lead the way, next will be Ashley, then Alyson and I'll bring up the back."

Without another word, they all took off in separate directions to get things done. I watched as the strapped my luggage to the large red dragon's back, but offered no help. They all saddled up their dragons and mounted, since I didn't have one I just got on. Collin pulled out his phone and brought it up to his ear, _who could he be calling?_

"READY?," Collin asked with his thumb in the air as he put his phone back in his pocket. One by one they all raised a thumb to give the all clear, then they all turned to me. I flashed a thumbs up and without hesitation Serena and Verona shot off into the air followed by Ashley and Diamond.

The pink and purple scales glittered in the sun as the ascended into the sky, Verona was farther but Diamond was racing to catch up. Diamond was bigger than Verona so she could fly faster, but since Verona was smaller she was more versatile. I was too busy watching the dragons dancing in the sky that I forgot it was my turn, thankfully Collin was there to remind me.

"GO! GO! GO!," he shouted.

_"GO!,"_ I gave the command and Luna jumped into the sky. I had forgotten how dramatic our first flight was but now that we were in the air again, I clutched Luna for life and shut my eyes.

"_No tricks this time_," Luna soothed me. "_We are flying straight, at least that is what I am told."_

_"This isn't straight! THIS IS UP!," _my stomach was flipping as we went higher and higher.

"_Be not afraid,"_ she said as she flapped her wings harder.

_"It's hard when I am LITERALLY miles from the ground!"_

Luna's body rumbled with laughter,"_ How can you tell with your eyes closed?"_

_"Aren't you just full of smart remarks..."_

_"I learn from the best."_

I slowly opened my eyes, they were met with rushing wind, making them water. Through the tears, I didn't see much, just a lot of blue and then white. Luna leveled out and I sat up slowly, hold her tightly so I wouldn't slip. It felt different this time, Luna was slow and steady and not thrashing around to show off her tricks. I felt safer, more secure with her being less wild. The wind was pulling me down slightly, but it was nothing I couldn't handle; I was thankful for the sweater because the cold was already nipping at me through my sleeves.

Ahead I saw Diamond weaving through the clouds as Ashley held close to her. Beyond her, Verona was gliding smoothly as Serena sat up straight moving her arms gracefully, she almost looked like she was about to do Kung-Fu. I glanced back to see the massive red dragon was right behind us, Collin sat up more once I turned, he even waved but I turned back around.

"_I love this_," Luna yelled ecstatically.

_"What?"_

_"I LOVE THIS! This flying with dragons, feeling them near me makes me feel alive. Knowing that I don't have to fly alone, it is indescribable."_

_"And here I was thinking you were talking about flying with me,"_ I taunted.

_"You are the best companion I could ask for!"_

I smiled and looked ahead to Serena who was still moving her arms around, then I noticed a growing red circle in the distance. Inside the swirling red circle was more red, it looked like a pool of blood floating in the sky. Serena then lowered her hands to hold onto Verona as she sped into the abyss.

"SERENA!," I shouted, but she was gone. "Oh my god!"

"_Alyson, it is okay. That is the portal_," Luna said.

"The portal to death! NO way are going in there!" I screamed as Diamond flew into the rippling red pool.

"_We must...,"_ Luna flapped her wings harder. We were right in front of it, it was massive! Bigger than the arch in St. Louis, it was enormous, I shut my eyes and opened my mouth and let out a blood curdling scream as Luna flew right the the portal. My heard was filled with colors and my chest had so much pressure on it I couldn't breath, let alone scream anymore. I didn't dare open my eyes, I hugged Luna tightly so I wouldn't fall while she strained to fly. Red filled my eyelids and I felt extremely hot while my ears were filled with the sound of people cheering.

_"Oh my...,"_ Luna sounded stunned.

"_Luna! What is it!"_

_"Alagaesia."_


	23. Chapter 23

My eyes shot open, but were blinded by the brightness of the sun. I could already feel the difference in temperature as my clothes started to stick to my already sweating skin. My eyes began to adjust and the first thing I saw was the never ending sand that surrounded me in all directions. It was almost like an ocean, mesmerizingly beautiful but dangerous all at once. My attention was then turned to the sound filling my ears, the sound of people screaming.

_Shit! We came and they are fighting! _I looked down, expecting to see a bloody battle with elves and urgals killing each other but instead see a giant arena far below filled with people cheering. _So... it's good screaming? _I automatically leaned back into Luna, realizing how high up we were.

_"I believe it is a welcome," _Luna was still stunned by what was happening, just like me.

I peered back over Luna's neck to the people that occupied the large arena below, they were waving banners and flags while shouting up to us. It was bigger than anything that I had ever seen at home, it was at least triple the size of any football stadium. Verona began to circle the domain, followed by Diamond, so Luna thought to was wise to follow. As we circled I noticed that there were so many people that there was a crowd waiting outside the gates of the entrance just standing and cheering, but attention was caught by what lay beyond them. There were large lumps of color moving around, glittering in the harsh sun, ..._Dragons._

_"Dragons..." _Luna repeated.

We got lower and lower, the noise of the people was so overwhelming I couldn't hear anything; it was so bad I could feel the vibrations of there shouting through out my body. _Shit this is a lot of people! All looking at us... at me._ My hands instantly began shaking at the thought of tens of thousands of people staring at me, I tightened my grip on Luna's horns as she followed Diamond. I wanted to close my eyes and make it all go away, but I couldn't look away from the sight of the dragons. They were beautiful, each a different shade, different size, a different style from the last, no two were alike but all were equaling breathtaking. They were lost from my view as we landed in the middle of the humongous field, behind a large stage. _Oh.. my.. god.._

I heard Luna try to say something but I was deaf from the thunderous bellowing coming from every direction. I watched as Serena demounted, then Ashley, so just like Luna, I thought it would be wise to follow their lead. Once my feet were on the ground, I could feel the everyone's shouting and stomping pulsing up my legs. It was hard to stand still, I leaned against Luna for support. I looked left, ready to see Collin, but he was gone. _Where is he? Where did he go? WHERE AM I!? Holy shit..._ I could feel a panic attack approaching.

_"Luna... I'm so nervous. I hate this. I hate this." _I knew she probably couldn't hear me, but I didn't care.

My head was starting to throb from the ruckus, when they all grew silent. I looked around wildly for the reason for there sudden silence but I couldn't see the front of the stage, it was blocked.

"Alyson! Psst!," Serena whispered. "Psst!"

I turned and saw her gesture for me to follow her, I looked to Luna. She raised her massive shoulders as an attempt to shrug, I repeated her gesture and followed Serena to the side of the stage.

"Okay," she whispered. "The queen is going to say some words, then Collin will go up to introduce you. When he gestures, go on stage."

_Queen? Who was the queen?... I should have paid more attention to the books. Gallobrix was the King before he died so that means... shit. Who is it?!_

"Okay, be ready," Serena said before retreating behind the stage again.

"Wait! No!," I tried to call her back but she didn't hear. _Shit. _I faced the colossal crowd from my hidden position and swallowed the lump in my throat, but luckily none were looking at me from where I huddled next to the steps. They were all staring at stage, I turned my attention to where they were all gawking. On stage, there was a line of 6 grand chairs, but the third one from me was a large throne, much more flamboyant than the others. Each chair had someone sitting in it, except the seat right beside the large throne, it was vacant. The chair nearest to me was smaller than the rest and had a very tiny man sitting with his hands in his lap. He had a full grown beard, even though he was no taller than 5 feet. While he sat there, his feet dangled off the chair but didn't touch the ground, it was so adorable, I just wanted to squeeze his cheeks.

Before I could act, the woman who was sitting in the plush red chair in the center of the chair line, stood. She was beautiful, she had dark mocha colored skin and her hair was dark and pulled into a tight bun behind her head. On top of her head was a large, yet stunningly simple crown, it was radiant. Her tight hair helped show off her high cheekbones and full lips, _Wow... If that's what you get to look like being born here, then sign me up._

The woman reached the center of stage to address the large assembly. Her voice was alarmingly loud, I was shocked that it projected to the entire arena," Hello, my subjects. It is a marvelous occasion that we all gather her today!" Her voice was so soft but strong, I was officially jealous of this girl but still was lost on who she was. _Subjects? She must be the queen... Queen?... Queen who?_

"As you all are aware, we have been searching for the final dragon in the land of Earth. We have waited patiently for many years, hoping that we could keep the secret of our world from this foreign country. But not to worry... The final dragon is home! We are at peace!"

The crowd exploded with delight at hearing the news, I heard the roar of dragons while everyone cheered; even the residents sitting on stage clapped their hands. The queen held her hand up and the sound diminished," I would like welcome the young rider who is responsible for this momentous feat. He has been working non stop to ensure that Alagaesia is safe from the distant borders of the land of Earth. I present you: Rider Collin!," she clapped softly and the people erupted with cheering again.

Collin walked up on stage from the stairs on the other side of the stage, waving to the crowd. I smirked because of how he looked next to the queen, she was dressed in an elegant golden dress that glittered and sparkled in the sun, almost like a dragon scale. It looked like it was worth more than something a Kardashian would wear, then Collin, next to her had on a causal pair of jean with a tear and a plain shirt; you could definitely see a time gap.

Collin bowed to her and she nodded her head before returning to her seat as Collin took the stage and faced the people," Hello, Alagaesia! I am Collin, Rider of Razor, I am a Rider from Earth. In fact, I am the first Rider of Earth and when I was explained the situation of Alagaesia and the missing eggs, I knew that my world was too fragile for the information contained within this land. I made it my personal mission to guard the secrets of Alagaesia and vowed to find every egg and return it to it's place of origin. My crew and I have been working vigorously to bring peace of mind to Alagaesia and I am excited to announce that today our duty has been completed!"

The people of Alagaesia roared with the announcement. _Shit, he is going to make me go on stage_!

"Without a big speech: here she is, the final Rider of Earth: Alyson, and her dragon, Luna!," Collin held out his hand, showing everyone where I was. The arena blew up with screaming, I could feel every pair of eyes shift to me and I thought I was going to piss myself. My jaw dropped and my knees locked and I looked back into the eyes of all the strangers gazing at me like I was a prized pony. I was frozen in my spot, at a loss for how to move, my brain had been wiped of all my previous knowledge. The noise drowning my ears faded as I stood there, unable to walk up the stairs, _I can't do this!_

_"Acorn, that's you! They cheer for you! Go up to be recognized_!," Luna's voice whispered into my mind. " _I am behind you!"_

Luna snapped me back to reality, I glanced back to see that she was in fact, right behind me. I smiled and grabbed the railing, using for support as I climbed the stairs. If it was at all possible, the people got even louder, I was so close to risk looking like a three year old and plugging my ears. When I reached Collin, I took his hand in mine to keep my grasp on reality; this all felt like a dream, how could I know it wasn't. Luna came up on my right, and perched as best she could on the stage, which was almost too small for her. Collin put our hands in the air and I could, with absolute certainty, hear the rise in volume from the crowd. Looking out to the flood of people, they were all on their feet, cheering with all their might. _Am I really that important? There is no way .Luna yes, me no._

They all fell silent again and I was confused as to why until I heard the queen speak up. "The final members of the Riders of Earth!," I jumped when I heard her voice. "We welcome the last of the elite with gracious open arms. Welcome to your new home, Rider and dragon. Welcome to Alagaesia!," she turned to me and smiled. It was so heart warming, I had to smile back, even though I was petrified. With the final words, the people of Alagaesia were on their feet, screaming at the top of their lungs. _They are more excited than me..._

"I thank each of you for your loyal support to the Riders and to Alagaesia! I am grateful for your warm welcome to the last Rider of Earth, Thank you!," with that, the queen turned and left the stage. Collin kept my hand in his and took me off stage, and back behind where the rest of the Rider's were waiting.

"You did great, girl!," Serena congratulated me.

"That was a great speech, Collin. Very inspiring," Ashley twirled her long hair on her finger.

"Thanks," he smiled to Ashley, which made his dimples pop out. "Now, it's not quite over yet," he turned to me. "A lot of people want to meet you. A LOT! My advise: stay polite but don't say too much. We will coach you more when we have time."

"Some of these people are very important here in Alagaesia, so just try to be positive, smile, and stay friendly," Serena suggested.

"How many people?," I asked timidly.

"All the Royals, the rest of the Riders, and most of Alagaesia commoners. So... everyone," Ashley responded.

"Great," my head dropped.

_"I am here with you_," Luna reminded me. "_We will do this together."_

_"Damn straight!"_

I felt gentle squeeze, remembering that Collin was still gripping my hand in his; I squeezed back, trying to signal to him that I was ready because there was no way I would be able to form those words.

"Okay, let's do it!," Collin kept our fingers intertwined as we walked back to the front of stage. "It'll be easy," Collin reassures me when we are alone. "Here comes King Orik, he is king od the dwarves," he whispers in a rush. "Hello King Orik," he bows slightly to the short man. _It's the cute little guy from stage! Aww, he is too small and cute!_

"Pleased to see you alive again, Rider," he nods to Collin, then he turns to me," And you are the new one... the final Rider of Earth." The kings had medium brown hair, which was short and beginning to curl at the tips, it rain seamlessly onto his face to create his beard which was full and bushy.

"That's me... I guess," I speak quietly.

"Be not ashamed of the title. Own it, be it, accept it! The final Rider of earth rings with beauty," he chuckled lightly.

"Thank you, King Orik," I replied without raising my eyes. _This is my first ever royalty... and he is so short! I love it! Is it rude to not look at royalty? Or is it rude to stare!? I DONT KNOW! WHY DID NO ON TELL ME!?_

"Rider, do you know where they are holding the whiskey?," Orik asked Collin.

"Sadly, I am unaware of where they have hidden the whiskey," Collin apologized.

"Fear not, I figure I will manage until I find its place. It was honor to meet you, young mistress," Orik said before departing into the small group of people that had gathered infront of the stage.

"Thank you!... sir?," I called after him but he didn't hear.

"Ahhh, Collin," I turned to see a tall lanky man, holding up his arms as if to embrace Collin, but doesn't.

"Hello King Orrin," Collin bows.

_Should I be bowing to people? Oh well._

"It is great to see such a known face in the crowd of nameless faces," he smiles.

"It is such a privilege that you could attend the ceremony," Collin states.

The king rolled his eyes," As if I had a choice dear boy, Nausada insisted. It could not have come at a worse time, I was just in the middle of a new experiment!"

"I'm sorry to hear that, your majesty. May I present to you, the new rider, Alyson," Collin gestured to me and I waved awkwardly.

"Oh, right! Yes, yes of course! Welcome!," he greeted me.

"It's lovely to meet you, King Orrin," I attempt to bow, but I knew it was a mess.

"I hope we meet again, you'll have to come to Surda some time. Are you much interested in science?," he asked.

"Science? Well, I got a B in the class, so I'm not terrible."

"Excellent," he laughed and then departed without another word.

As he laugh Collin chuckled," What!?," I crossed my arms.

"Nothing," he smiled. " So, no too bad, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Everyone seems nice. Where did the queen go?"

"Which one?"

"Which one? How many are there!?," I was confused.

"Two. The queen of Alagaesia and the queen of the elves."

"Oh...," was all I said.

"Queen Nasuada, the one you met on stage, had to leave for important issues." _NAUSADA! THAT'S HER NAME!,_ I mentally slapped myself for not remembering. "Arya, the queen of the elves, is mingling; don't worry, you'll meet her."

"Yeah, I read about her. Wait! Is Eragon here? Does he even exist!?"

Collin laughed again," Yes, Eragon exists! But he isn't here, he is very busy."

"Shouldn't he be here though? you know, he is like the King of Riders and I'm a rider!"

"True. Very true, but you'll get to meet him too. Let's focus on the people here and now, okay? Like, him over there, that is Aywin. He is one of the oldest Rider's, also one of the first to study under Eragon Shadeslayer."

"Alright... who is that?," I pointed to a red haired woman with pointed ears.

"That is Ryalle, she is also a Rider under Eragon's train. But you can meet all these people later."

"They way you described it, made it sound like I would be mobbed by people."

"Well, that comes later," he winked.

I turned back to look for someone new to point, but was met with the stare of a pale woman with dark black hair. I jumped when I saw her, but she had no reaction, her bright green eyes were blank and stunning. Staring at her at such close range, her features were perfect; she reminded me of Angelina Jolie with her full lips and high cheeks combined with dark hair.

"Hello...," I finally said.

"Hello, Final Rider," She spoke softly and confidently.

"Oh, Alyson this is **Queen Arya**," Collin introduced us, stressing that she was a queen.

"Oh... Hello, Queen Arya," I tried to restart the conversation.

She blinked and tilted her head slightly," It is customary to bow when in the presence of royalty, but since you are new to this land, I understand our rules are quite different."

I blubbered," Oh, I-I'm s-s-so sorry, ma'am. I mean q-queen."

"Don't be embarrassed, Rider. I understand this all is a shock to you, I can't even imagine being in your position."

"Well... thank you?"

"I am happy to finally meet you."

"Yeah, it's such an honor to meet you too," I smiled.

"The honor is all mine," she stated, but unlike the others, she did not leave. She stood there gazing at me with her unblinking stare, as if she was observing me or sizing me up.

Collin took the opportunity to intrude," How is the fierce Firnen doing, Queen Arya?"

"Firnen does well, he is outside the gate with the other dragons. He is excited to meet the Final Dragon of Earth," her gaze flickered back to me.

"Well, we'll have to get Luna out there so they can be properly introduced."

"Yes... we will," she nodded. We all stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Arya finally spoke to me," Do you mind if I look at your gedwey ignasia?"

"My what?!," I wasn't prepared for her sudden question.

"Your gedwey ignasia... your palm that shows the bond to your dragon..."

"Oh! Yeah, that," I extended my hand which Arya took gently. She ran her finger along the straight scar across my palm, she looked like she was trying to study it, until she suddenly let my arms go.

"Thank you," she smiled slightly.

"Your welcome...?"

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Alyson, Final Rider of Earth and to speak with you again Collin. Atra du evarínya ono varda.[1]"

" Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr. Un du evarínya ono varda. [2]," Collin replied to which Arya nodded and then brushed past us, walking gracefully through the crowd.

"What just happened? Did you just speak that ancient language thing!?," I asked bewildered.

"She said goodbye and I replied and yes, I speak it."

"Why did she want to see my palm?"

"I'm not sure," Collin's brow furrowed. "But she did the same to me when I first arrived so maybe it's a Rider thing?"

I shrugged," Maybe..."

* * *

**Another Chapter! So Happy! Sorry for the LONG wait, College is really draining me of my energy! Make sure you leave a comment so I know if you like it! Thank you!**

**[1] May the stars watch over you**

**[2]May good fortune rule over you. Peace live in your heart. And the stars watch over you**


	24. Chapter 24

Collin introduced me to a few more higher up's before I started to complain.

"Collin, I want to meet Riders! Dragons!"

"I know, but we have to get through this," he reassured.

"I don't want to," I grumbled like a child.

He rolled his eyes," Fine." He weaved through the people, dragging me behind. "Keep up."

I was jittering with anticipation,"_ Finally! More dragons!"_

_"I cannot wait a second longer!," _Luna was waiting by the inner gates for us to come to her.

_"You won't have to!"_

I saw Luna was shifting with her excitement. Serena and Verona had told her to not go out alone, she would be ambushed. She fell into stride next to us as we exited the giant arch, strolling past the large iron gates. It was beautiful, nothing like I had seen at home, the designs were completely original.

"So you know the drill, polite and short. Right?," Collin asked before we reached the second set of large gates.

"Polite. Short. I know!"

"And Luna?," he peered at her.

"_I believe I can handle myself,"_ she spoke confidently.

"Let's do it," he said as we were greeted by the bright sun and more sounds of cheering. I blinked and saw all the people were being kept at bay with simple ropes,_ almost like a concert. _I took a deep breath and smiled at them as we passed they were all so eager to see Luna and I. "Finally, what you've been whining about," Collin muttered.

I was going to retort a rude remark but I was silenced by the view of glittering scales. They were everywhere, all so gorgeous, I hade the urge to stroke them but resisted. All eyes were on us: elves, dragons, dwarves. I smiled at them as the gazed upon us, _this is not what I imagined._

_"I don't even mind their eyes, I consider it an honor."_

_"They probably can't remember the last time they saw such a small dragon."_

Luna huffed, puffing her chest our slight, trying to appear larger. Finally one Rider was bold enough to approach us, she was tall with long curly black hair that tangled in the slight breeze. She had dark brown eyes and nicely tanned skin which flattered her pale green tunic Her dragon was a bright orange, and massive, he was as big as Razor, except he glowed like a sunset.

"Hello," she spoke slowly.

"Hi," I smiled.

"I am Elenlithe, daughter of Haeialeth and Locien Feltaeil."

"It's lovely to meet you," I was going to repeat her name, but she said it so delicately, I didn't want to ruin it.

"This is my dragon, Huxor," her dragon straightened up as his name was spoken.

"A pleasure," I nodded.

"_It is indeed a great moment to finally look upon the Final Rider of Earth_," a deep voice responded directly into my head.

"This is my dragon," I smiled," Her name is Luna."

"Such a lovely sight," Elenlithe said softly.

"_Your flattery is too kid_," Luna said happily. "_I believe it is you are the sight to be seen, so many dragons in such a small space... it is miraculous."_

_"Meeting the final Dragon of Earth is certainly a special occasion,"_ Huxor remarked.

"Yeah, they are very excited to meet all the new Riders," Collin stepped into the conversation.

"By all means," Elenlithe side stepped giving us room to proceed into the crowd.

_"That went well!,"_ I blurted to Luna.

_"Extremely. We did great! Now on to the next."_

I turned to see that Collin was continuing his conversation with Elenltihe, but I was not going to wait. _This time we should go up to someone_, I thought as I approached a pale blue dragon. As usual, the dragon was enormous, but I wasn't going to let it intimidate me. The person standing with the dragon, I assumed to be the rider was a man who was short, but not as much as King Orrin. He looked like he was is in his 30's with stubble across his face and thick brown hair, but I saw his ears were pointed. _An Elf._

"Hello," I smiled to him to which he nodded in reply. Uhmm... "I'm Alyson."

"Cillas," he said curtly.

"Cillas? What a unique name," I said without thinking. He turned to me, his brow furrowed and his face stern. I realized what I said might have been offensive," No!," I shook my head," I mean it as a compliment. It is a unique name, very beautiful."

His face did not change, but he turned away from me, saddling his dragon.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, Cillas," I apologized, _I should just stop. STOP TALKING!_

_"Don't mind him, child," _a silky voice answered. I looked for it's source, when I locked eyes with the pale blue dragon which Cillas was tending to._ "He is not upset with you.."_

"Okay," I was still unsure.

"_I am the dragon known as Deliaun," _she never looked away from me.

"_You also have such a beautifully unique name, just as your rider does_," I tried to lighten the tension.

"_Yes, it does have a nice sound. I am pleased with the name I chose," _her attention turned to Cillas ,"_ You should be nice to the young child. She means no harm."_

"I know," he grumbled," but we must hurry if we want to get home before dark."

"_Why did we come here? We came to see the Final Dragon and Rider fof Earth and now we see the good fotune to meet them. We must grasp the opportunity, home can wait."_

Cillas sighed," You make a point," he turned to me, looking me up and down then to Luna,"...the Final Pair from Earth."

His gaze made me uneasy, his green eyes were piercing, I looked to the ground.

Luna spoke up,"_ I am Luna. It is nice to meet your acquaintance."_

_"Luna? Very powerful," _Deliaun remarked. _"Where did you come up with it?"_

_"Thank you. I am actually not the one who chose the name, Alyson said it to me and we agreed."_

Deliaun seemd to nod, trying to understand such an odd concept that a dragon did not pick their own name.

"Alyson and Luna," Cillas said it like he was trying to taste our names. "Alyson is one I have never heard before, must be an Earth name."

"Yes, it's very common there," I lifted my eyes from the sand.

"It is also very unique and beautiful," his mouth twitched with a smile and instantly he looked like a nicer, happier person. His smile brightened his entire face, I actually could look at him without being uncomfortable.

I smiled," Thank you! It was so great to meet you both!"

"I am happy we attended the ceremony," Cillas replied.

_"This will not be our last meeting,"_ Deliuan said.

_"Of course not, we must see each other again_," Luna said with certainty.

Cillas returned to the saddle around Deliuan and I took that as my signal to leave them. _Oh GOD! What is wrong with me! I'm going to get killed here for saying the wrong thing!_

_"It happens, Acron. Leave it behind us, let us go forth and meet new people."_

"Yeah," we wandered looking at the Dragons that towered over us and their Riders were all preparing for flight. We even got to see a dragon ascend into the air, it was glorious and graceful.

"Excuse me, miss," a small voice addressed me. I turned as saw a small boy with his face facing the floor as if he was ashamed.

"Hello," I kneeled to him.

"Hello, miss," he remained looking at the sand.

"Can I help you? Are you lost?," I looked around for his mom or dad.

"No, miss. I am just here to ask you to meet my master."

"Master?," I was confused.

"Yes miss. Will you meet with him?," the boy was so shy. He looked like he was about 7 years old with blonde scruffy hair that need to be trimmed.

"Hey...," I reached for his face and his flinched and drew away. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," I reached forward again slowly and he allowed me to touch him. I lifted his chin to look him in the eye, he was adorable. He had dark green eyes with blue rims, his cheeks were dirty and hollow. He was very scrawny and his complexion was a ghostly while, I wanted to give him some food and lie him in the sun. "What is your name?"

"I am Tholus, miss."

I smiled," Hello, Tholus. I'm Alyson, this is my dragon, Luna." Tholus turned to see Luna, but then looked away.

"_Hello Tholus, it is so great to meet you_," Luna said softly as to not scare the boy, but he didn't even flinch we she talked.

"My master will be mad if I am away to long, I have to tend to Valor," he looked down again.

"He won't get mad," I assured him," Why would he? Who is your... master?"

"Master Corin Vallois, the brave and honorable."

"Uh-huh...," I was unsure if I wanted to meet the man who made a child call him master. "I would love to meet your... friend, Corin but it's just that Luna doesn't feel well."

Tholus' eyes widened with shock," Yeah, she feel so lonely. I cant ride her because I have to be down here talking to people."

_"I wish there was someone to ride on my back,"_ Luna wailed, playing along seamlessly with my plan.

"I will go meet Corin, if you do my the favor of riding with Luna," I bargained.

"Master Corin won't like it if I were to ride your dragon, miss," he bowed his head again.

"Please, Tholus! I need you!," I sounded like a kid, begging for a toy at the store.

Tholus looked up to me and grinned," Alright, miss! I'll do it! I'll ride your dragon!"

I laughed," Thank you! Thank you so much!"

_"FINALLY! A COMPANION!,"_ Luna lowered her head so Tholus could climb onto her back. He approached her slowly, carefully not to hurt her as he reached and climbed onto her back.

"Very well done, Tholus. You could be a Rider!," I congratulated him and he beamed proudly. "Show me where to find Corin."

Tholus helped navigate me to through the crowd so we could find Corin. It turns out, Corin has his own personal tent set up beyond the herd of dragons. It looked more like there was a circus inside, it was huge! It looked expensive, almost like it was made of deep shade of burgundy velvet with a gold V above the tent's opening.

Tholus slide of Luna's back into the sand," He is inside and wishes to meet you, miss."

"Call me Alyson, okay Tholus?"

"Yes, Alyson. I must go now and see Valor," he began to walk around the tent to the back.

"Okay, I'll come see you later!," I waved goodbye.

"Okay!," he said happily, running back to his duties.

_"Awe, he is so cute!"_

_"I quite enjoy him," _Luna beamed.

I turned to the tent,"_ So... do I just go in or...?"_

_"I'm not sure what you would do in this circumstance."_

I shrugged and walked to the tent, pushing the flap past as I passed; Luna followed me without struggle due to the tents size. I walked into a huge opening with pillows and drapes laying everywhere like it was a slumber party. There was a circle of pillars on the center of the room, holding the tent in place. It was a magnificent room, everything looked very tasteful and luxurious but it was hot and muggy with no ventilation, _why would he want this thing?_ I looked for someone who might know something, but it was vacant.

"Hello?," I called into the emptiness. "Hello?"

_"Let's go_," Luna shuffled. " _We can meet him later."_

I shrugged, it was true, I could meet this Corin person later, it was no big deal. "_Wait! He sent Tholus out for us, I don't want him to get in trouble because we didn't even wait 5 minutes."_

Luna grumbled, annoyed," _Fine, I will be patient." _

"Hello?," I called put for the third time_._

"YES! YES! I hear you, please be patient," a voice snapped at me from beyond my view. I jumped by the sudden, loud, response but stayed silent. Finally, a tall, tanned, man came into the room wearing a gold tunic and holding a glass of what looked like wine. He was very handsome with his bright chocolate eyes and strong jaw line, he looked to me to be about 20 or so.

"Who are you?," he demanded.

"Uhm... I'm Alyson? This is my dragon, Luna... we were summoned here by some guy... Corin?"

"I am Corin."

"Oh, okay..."

"Who summoned you again... and for what purpose?," he sat on one of the couches and put his feet up, sipping his wine.

"Well, we were told Corin... but Tholus didn't really sa-"

Corin sat up abruptly," Tholus? So you must be the Final Rider of Earth," he realized," and this your dragon."

"Yeah, that's us."

"You are not what I thought you would be," he leaned back again.

"Sorry?," I was unsure what he wanted.

"Please, come sit," he gestured to the couch adjacent to him. "BOY! BOY!," he called out angrily.

The curtain parted and Tholus came rushing in," Yes , Master."

"Bring in my dragon, Boy and be quick about it," Corin demanded, which sent Tholus rushing back out of the room.

"_How rude to speak to such a sweet child in such a manner_," Luna remarked with distain.

"So, how do you know Tholus?," I asked Corin.

"The boy? He was a gift to me from my cousins when I became a Rider," he sounded pleased with his story. " He does basic duties, like tending to the Dragon and chores."

"A gift? Like a... a slave?," I shuddered on the word.

"Well, yes. My family has had hundreds, we have many more back in Uru'baen, they help tend to the house and food, and most things. But Tholus is my own personal one, who I take with me where ever I go. He needs a lot of guidance yet... BOY! HURRY UP!"

I stayed silent, _What do I even say to that! ITS DISGUSTING! I want to throw up... Poor Tholus. How can people just SELL another person... It's not right!_

_"Remember what Collin said: Polite and short.," _Luna reminded me but I could hear an edge on her voice too.

Tholus scurried in, panting with a large Burgundy dragon following him.

"Ahh!," Corin put his glass down," There he is! The most feared dragon in all of Alagaesia," Corin rubbed the dragons neck. "Alyson, may I present to you, Valor, my faithful pet. Be gone boy," he ordered to Tholus, who scampered out of the room.

"Hello," I said awkwardly. "This is Luna, my dragon."

_"These are the Final Rider and Dragon?," _ slithery voice slide into my head.

"Indeed," Corin replied.

"Well, it was lovely to meet you," I stood from the couch," But we must get going to find our escort."

"Escort? Who is your Escort?," Corin was intrigued.

"Collin."

He chuckled lowly," Collin, an escort? He is merely a boy."

"He is very good at it" I defended Collin," He has made sure we are in no danger."

"And I applaud him for it, because I would have gave him a thrashing if he had damaged such a lovely present to Alagaesia," Corin's eyes flowed down my body. _Oh...this is weird. _"How long do you plan on staying here, Alyson?"

"Uhmm.. not very long."

_"I don't like this Alyson, his dragon will not take his eyes away."_

"I am very excited to get to know you and your dragon on a very personal level," he grinned while refilling his glass.

"Yeah... sure. We'll see you around," I said while practically running through the tent. Once we were back outside, I kept a fast pace to get away a soon as possible. Back in the crowd, I searched for Collin, feeling unsafe without him now, like at any moment Corin could come and snatch me without anyone noticing.

"Final Rider of Earth," a man stepped in my path.

"Yes, hello," I stopped so I wouldn't be rude.

"I am Welles and my dragon: Souttef. We are honored to have you rejoin us in Alagaesia."

"Thank you" I smiled and pushed through but more and more people were introducing themselves that it became overwhelming. "COLLIN!," I shouted as saw him talking to Ashley. He saw me and made some excuse to Ashley come to my rescue.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!," He announced loudly as I managed to hide behind him from the crowd. "Elves and Dwarves, Dragons of all kinds! The Final Rider of Earth must retire to her suite," everyone visibly slumped at the news, "BUT," they perked up again," you still have the chance to meet her at the Queen's Welcoming Ball in Ilirea two nights from now." The crowd cheered then dispersed into smaller groups to chat amongst themselves.

I stood up," Thank you!"

"No problem. I couldn't find you earlier, where did you go?"

"I met people!"

"Great, did you stay polite?"

"Yes."

"And short?"

"For some, yeah."

"Great. How was it Luna?"

_"A delight!,"_ she purred.

"Awesome," he clapped his hands. "Ready to fly out?"

"Yeah, just one question?"

"Shoot."

"Did you say Ball?"

* * *

**YEAH! So this is just kind of a transition chapter, introducing new characters, nothing major! If you have any questions, let me know, I will try to explain it all to you. BUT I still hope you all love it and leave a review for me to read!**

**Thank you so much for reading!**


	25. Chapter 25

"Alyson, you'll be fine."

"But I've never been to a Ball before," I confessed to Collin as his dismounted. We had been flying for hours from the arena, which I found out had been in the Hadarac Desert, and we were now somewhere on the bank of a river. The daylight was fading and the wind was beginning to pick up, I knew everyone was annoyed with me ad all my pestering question about the Ball, but I was really unsure what to expect.

"It'll be easy," Serena said," Mine went by so fast, I barely remember it."

"Mine was a disaster," Collin chuckled," Being the first one here, I was like an alien, no one here knew anything about humans from Earth. They were so afraid and confused, most of the night was awkward silence."

"_Many dragons thought me to be different than themselves from being hatched on Earth_," Razor admitted. "_It took time for them to come realize that Alagaeisa is in my blood."_

"What exactly happens at a ball?," I asked for about the eighth time.

Collin's head dropped and he took a deep sigh," Well... Queen Nasuada introduces you to the court and you mingle with people. Basically what you did today except it will be at a Ball."

"I feel like you aren't tel-..." I was interrupting by the ring of cell phone. _A Phone call? Who is calling me?_ I looked at the caller ID: Mom. My heart sped up, _What do I say? What do I tell her? Will she know I'm lying? Shit! I forgot to call her! But how much time has it been? A few hours is... I DON'T KNOW!_

"Hello," I answered, clearing my throat, trying to sound casual.

"_Alyson? Oh, it's so great to hear you!,"_ My mom voice was choppy with static.

"Mom? Hello? Can you hear me?"

_"I c-...you didn't...me... I was... -ick."_

"Mom? I can't hear you. I have bad reception," I said loudly into the receiver.

_"Hel... can y-... me?,"_ her voice was cutting in and out making it impossible to understand.

"I love you, mom. I miss you," my heart clenched. I missed them so much and to hear her only made it worse and the guilt all more real.

_"...love...too..._

"Bye, mom," I clicked the end call and inhaled sharply, hoping it would hold back my tears; thankfully, I kept it under control.

_"Acorn, I feel your sorrow_," Luna seemed sad too.

"_I miss home,"_ I admitted. "_I miss my family and it's only been like 3 hours!"_

_"I, too am longing for home, the sweet embrace of trees."_

_"We'll go back soon," _I spoke mostly to myself.

_"Soon."_

"Are you okay?," Serena looked worried

"Yeah," I sighed and did a half smile," I'm good."

A silence washed over us as we sat at the waters edge, listening to the sound of the water trickling down stream. After a few minutes, Collin got up to find some wood for a fire, which Ashley insisted on helping him with and Diamond went with them. Razor then wandered away to be by himself, leaving Serena and I with our dragons.

"How come there are no like guards or anything with us to keep us safe?," I was curious.

"Guards?," Serena snickered. "Why would we need those?"

"Well, I read the Eragon books and," I paused thinking on how to phrase my words," ...and Alagaesia is known for being dangerous."

"Yes," Serena nodded," that was the case when Tarathi lived here. It was dark under Gallobrix's reign, but when Nasuada became High Queen, that all changed. I wasn't here, obviously, but I've heard stories, heard terrible things," Serena shook her head," But now, crime is down and Alagaesian society is at it's peak."

"So there are no thieves that will come at us in the night?"

Serena chuckled," Not with four dragons, unless they are crazy."

I nodded, forming another question in my head so we could keep the conversation going, I hated the silence. "What's with them?," I gestured to where Ashley and Collin had left. "Are they like... a thing?

"Them?," Serena stretched. " They used to be togehter. Ashley was the second Rider of Earth so Collin took her under his wing and they clicked, I guess."

"Used to be? So they aren't anymore?" Serena raised a suggestive eyebrow, making me get defensive. "No! No, I don't mean it like that! It's just... whenever I see him he is with her and whenever I talk to him, she glares. I was just wondering." I spoke the words confidently, but I knew that they were somewhat untrue. _Ashley and Collin? Gross! She is terrible! How could he be with someone so mean and rude?_

Serena help her hands up," No judgment. I'll admit that I though he was sexy when I first met him, but now I see him as a friend. But to answer our question, no, they aren't together anymore."

"What happened?"

"Well, I guess you could say it was you: the Final Rider of Earth. Collin was determined to find you, he was working nonstop, he did nothing but sleep, eat and research. He never really saw Ashley, which she wasn't really used to not getting attention so it caused some problems. They split up around a year ago and Ashley has dated a few other guys, but everyone knows she still fawns over Collin. And now that he has found The Final Rider, maybe they'll get back together."

"Oh...," was all I could day. _Back together? Collin and Ashley?_

_"Sounds as if you may be jealous, Acorn," _Luna snickered.

_"What?! No! I'm not jealous... Why would I be jealous?"_

_"You like Collin, Alyson. It is obvious to me."_

_"Luna, I don't like him! He is just some random kid that forced me to coming to a random place that I will soon forget when we leave."_

_"If you say so."_

Another voice interjected,"_ Perhaps Razor will mate with Diamond again as well." _Verona.

_"Razor and Diamond?," _Luna was caught off guard.

_"Oh yes, they have mated several times, she has even laid eggs from his seed."_

_"_But they aren't together!," I was shocked.

"It's different for dragons," Serena explained," It is about convenience and extending the species. Most dragons see mating as a duty, not as an act of love or passion."

I turned to Luna," Do you see it that way?"

"_Well, I see the need to help my bloodline live on, but I would need to approve of my mate."_

_"I feel the same," _Verona said.

"What about you Serena? Any cute boys here in Alagaesia that have snatched your heart?"

"Me?," she laughed," No. No one here is interested in me."

_"That is untrue,"_ Verona countered," _That boy at the market was very fond of you."_

"That's because I go there and buy stuff."

_"I see the way he talks to you, it is not in the way of friendship."_

Serena rolled her yes," Dragons." We both laughed as Collin and Ashley rejoined us with stick and twigs.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Serena said catching her breath.

Collin started a fire using magic, it was hypnotic the way he spoke the words and moved his arms, sparking the flame. With the heat, the wind didn't seem so bad.

"So this ball...," I heard everyone give a small groan," What? Come on! I'm nervous!"

"And that's good," Collin said," but you shouldn't be this nervous! It will be fine. Tomorrow when we get to Ilirea, you will be taken care of and you'll be so swept away that you wont even remember it until it starts ... lets all get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day!"

* * *

Luna was getting better at her flying: she was steadier, smoother, and faster. I was proud of her she was already learning from just being around dragons, I loved seeing her here. She was always giddy, she was beginning to be more talkative, almost like she was coming our of her shell. I could tell she was happy here, but I knew she was still just as nervous as me to meet people and make a good first impression.

We were flying to Ilirea, and my nerves were on edge like always. I had nearly forgotten about everything when we were flying, Alagaesia was so breath taking. It was so vast and scattered, but I thought it was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen at home, besides my mountains. The land seemed dry and dead, but the longer I stared, I could see the life breeding within the death. I saw small animals running beneath us, people with odd looking carts wave up at me, and the river was sparkling with the sun showing our reflection.

"_Alyson...,"_ my head snapped up from the ground. _"Ahead. Ilirea."_

I peered around Luna's horns and saw a small dark dot in the distance. _Really? That's it? I thought it would be bigger... _

We crept up on the city and the closer we got, the more I regretted my thoughts. The city was marvelous with huge spiraling towers and a castle unlike any I have ever read about. I had never seen a castle before, but I doubted I would ever see one as perfect as this. It towered over the city, bigger than the city itself, it was made of light brown stones and there were gold flags flying from the towers. The city was so lively, people bustling through the crowded streets, children laughing and playing but the best thing was the dragons. They flew threw the city like futuristic cars, all going different direction but never colliding with one another. I knew they were dragons just by inference, I couldn't actually tell, they were just flying colors rushing around. The city was more than I had expected, I wanted to just sit here and look at it in awe, but the others didn't share my appreciation.

_"Stay close,"_ I was told before they all plummeted into the city.

_Oh crap._

Luna followed them, zipping through the alleys, brushing past other dragons, struggling to keep up with Verona, Razor, and Diamond. I felt like I was Harry Potter during a Qudditch tournament, having to follow an unpredictable seeker. The group was swerving and dodging, so focused on the castle, they didn't even see Luna and I falling behind.

I was about to call to them when Luna collided with something and we were falling. I closed my eyes and let out scream and clung to her and we tousled with the whatever we had hit, I felt like I was falling of her back so I gripped tighter my mouth never closing. I opened my eyes to see flashes of green claws mixed with white scales, then red.

I closed my eyes again in fear," LUNA!" I heard a roar and then Luna and I hit the ground with a heavy thud. I reopened my eyes to see we were surrounded by dust, I coughed and blinked the dirt from my eyes. "Luna? Luna!"

I tried to move my leg protested with pain, I couldn't move it. Luna had landed on top of it and her weight was crushing it. "Luna?," I shook her but she was unresponsive. "Luna!... LUNA!" I was frantic but stuck, I was trying to slide off her back as best I could to not distort my leg, but my hand slipped on her scale and I fell. My leg pulsated with torment and I let out a gasp from the unbearable agony I felt. My hand was wet and sticky from Luna's scales, I turned it over to see the palm only for my heart split in two. Blood. It was blood. _"LUNA!" _

"Are you alright?," A voice was talking to me but it was faint. "I'm so sorry, we didn't see you! Are you okay?"

"LUNA!," I was fighting to look at her face, fighting to see her, fighting against the searing pain. I pushed Luna's heaving stomach while puling my leg from under her, grunting with effort mixed with discomfort.

"Stop! Stop!," I heard but didn't care, my leg was free. _Luna, please! PLEASE LUNA! Please... _"No, stop!"

I tried to stand with my leg protesting, the shooting sensation had dimmed now that I wasn't under a dragon, but it still hurt too much to stand.

"HELP! HELP!," I screamed desperately, hoping someone would hear. "_COLLIN! SERENA! ASHLEY!"_

Immediately I felt an arm wrap around my waist and my arm being controlled to wrap around a neck. I glanced at my rescuer, but took no time in really looking at them. With their support I stood and saw my dragon, my Luna. She was laying on the ground like she had been thrown and forgotten, her pure white scales were stained with blood. I let out another cry and there were tears running down my face.

"Please...Please," I hobbled around her leg to her face. _Please. Oh god, please! Don't do this. Don't do this to me! _"Please, Luna.."

Her face only made me sob harder, she had a gash along her cheek that was oozing blood. Her eyes were closed and I slide down the leg of my human cane to the ground and pulled myself to her.

"Luna..." my lip was quivering and my eyes were blurry. I stroked her face and leaned into her, letting my tears fall onto her scales. "Please! Luna! You can't do this, please!" I cradled her head in my lap, she was limp and so lifeless that I assumed the worst. _NO! PLEASE!_

I turned to my assistant, to beg them to do something, but there was no one there. I looked around and saw that they were next to Luna's stomach, their head was hidden, but I heard them speaking in a hushed tone.

"What are you doing? GET AWAY FROM HER!," rage replaced my sorrow. "GET AWAY!"

The figure didn't move, they continued to talk in a low voice, slowly moving down to Luna's tail. I saw a small flash of a bright light and for the first time I really looked at the person. It was a boy, he had blonde hair that was curling at the tips, he wasn't muscular but he wasn't scrawny. He kept his eyes on Luna as he walked around her, his eyes scanning her. He crotched again and began talking, but no to me, to himself; he was peaking in the ancient language but I didn't know what it meant. The bright white light returned and then faded, he stood and came to her head; he didn't look to me once, but kneeled in front of Luna and placed his hands on her cut, closed his eyes and started chanting. I held my breath as the white light blinded me but once it faded Luna's face was as it was, the cut was healed there was no signs of her even having a gash.

"How did you do that?," I was in awe.

He turned to me,"Now it's your turn," he placed his hands on my leg and I flinched and drew away. He looked at me, his gray eyes were sincere and sweet, " I'm not going to hurt you."

"Who are you?," I asked him angrily _No way am I going to just let some random kid 'heal' me._

"Does it matter? I want to help you."

"Stranger danger."

He sighed and placed his hands in his lap," I am just trying to clean up the mess I made."

My eyes widened," You did this?," I squeaked.

He didn't meet my stare," Yes. I am eternally sorry. We didn't see you and then..."

"You did this."

"We are sorry. If it helps, your dragon is healed. All her injuries are gone, she just need some rest but she will make a full recovery."

"We? Who is we?"

The boy looked behind his shoulder and from the shadows of the alley emerged a fairly large green dragon. My memory flashed with the sight of green claws then the red, the blood, Luna's blood.

"You..."

The dragon's head bowed in shame," _My humblest apologies, miss. I am a terrible flyer and I did not see your dragon...,"_ the sad voice cracked as she spoke.

"How did you not see us!," I was still angry. "It's impossible to NOT see us!"

_"As I said miss, I am a terrible flyer..."_

"That is no excuse! You practically gutted my dragon!"

"Stop!," the boy was now upset," We are sorry for our misfortunate collision, but we have apologized, healed your dragon and I plan to heal you. You will not speak to my dragon that way again."

His sudden anger scared me, moments ago his eyes were soft but now they flared with his own anger; his jaw was tight and he looked like a completely different person in a a matter of seconds.

"I'm sorry," I managed to say._ I can't believe I am apologizing... YOU HIT ME! Fucking dick._

His eyes returned to calm gray pools," Now, may I heal your leg?"

"I still don't know who you are."

"I'm Quinten."

"Quinten?"

"Yes, and this is my faithful companion Erea."

_"It is regrettable to meet under this circumstances, but it is a pleasure nonetheless," _the dragon, Erea said shyly.

I nodded, mostly thinking about the situation I was in, _I am vulnerable to them. They could have just hit and ran, but they stayed and healed Luna. They might not be as bad as I thought, but I don't know if I can trust anyone here._

"When will Luna wake up?"

Quinten looked at Luna," She needs rest, but she should wake soon."

"How can I trust you?"

"I told you my name, didn't I? So no more stranger danger, we're friends."

"Are we?," I was skeptical.

"Well, not until I learn your name," he smiled. He was truly gorgeous, normally my heart would speed up, but in this situation it was on pause._ Damn, if I would have known Alagaesia was full of hot guys, I would have found Luna sooner. Luna.. _ I turned to my dragon, her breathing had sped up and I could see her chest rising and falling as she slumbered.

"Alyson," I turned back to him.

"Alyson?... I've never seen you before," he was looking through his memories for a trace of me, but came up blank.

"Do you know everyone in Alagaesia?"

"No," he admitted," but I know most Riders."

"Not all," I smiled mockingly.

"Apparently" he smirked. "But by the look of your dragon, she is small so you must be a new Rider."

"She's not that small."

Quinten chuckled," No, she is not... so, your leg?" I reluctantly let him touch my leg and he did his magic like he had done before, the light glowed and when he was done, my leg had no more pain.

"Thank you," I stood up.

"It is the least we could do after causing the affliction."

Erea came closer to us, away from her security of the darkness. She was so beautiful, one of my favorite shades of teal: half blue and green.

_"I hope you are feeling better?," _her shy voice entered my mind.

_"Yes, thank you," _I responded, it was hard to stay mad on a creature that seems so fragile.

"Where are you headed? We could perhaps give you a lift?"

"I'm not leaving Luna here!"

"No, we wouldn't lea-..."

"ALYSON!," a loud voice from above interrupted: Collin.

"COLLIN!," I waved so he could see me. Razor them did a nose dive towards me and landed roughly so as to not step on Luna; Collin had hopped off Razor before he had landed.

"Alyson! Are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt?," he rushed to me.

"No, I'm fine. I'm good."

His eyes fixed on Luna,"What wrong with Luna! What the hell happened!?," he turned to me, then saw Quinten. His eyes went stern and his face tightened,"Quinten."

"Rider Collin," Quinten bowed mockingly.

"Did you do this?," Collin scoffed," What am I saying, of course you did. Wherever there is a mess, there's Quinten."

Erea let out a low rumble to which Razor repeated louder, both dragons looked ready to pounce._ What did I miss?_

"It was an accident," Quinten said with his jaw clenched.

"When isn't it an accident?," Collin looked back to me," Are you alright? Hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, really."

"Good, let's go," he grabbed my arm. I had never seen Collin like this, so obsessive and angry, I didn't like it.

"What about Luna," I shook him off.

Collin went and examined her, while the dragons kept their eyes locked.

"So you know Collin?," I turned to Quinten.

"I know most Riders... unfortunately," he muttered. "You know him?"

"My escort."

"Well he is doing a fine job," he mocked.

"Just like you do with flying," I retorted.

His eyes widened then a smirk spread his lips," Touché."

"Luna is fine, I assume that Quinten healed her with his attempt at magic after attacking?," Collin rejoined us.

Quinten rolled his eyes," We did not attack!"

"Then why is there blood all over Luna, but I see none on your dragon."

Quinten's eyes once again flared with anger," It was unfortunate. The white dragon is much smaller than Erea, Erea didn't even realize that she was there."

"Not surprising."

Erea then roared so ferociously, I nearly pissed myself but Razor retorted with a loud deep roar that shook the buildings so I held it in.

"I'm sensing some tension here," I said stupidly.

Collin and Quinten both glanced to me," Let's go," Collin grabbed me again. "We're going to be late."

"What about Luna?"

"Razor will carry her."

"Can he do that?"

"Yes. Luna is still relatively small."

I glanced back at Quinten who had now mounted Erea, I wanted to thank him again so I reached out to them. "_Thank you. Both of you."_

Both Erea and Quinten were alarmed by my intrusion, but he turned to me and nodded before Erea took flight.

Collin grumbled," Good riddance," as he mounted Razor and helped me on too.

_I wonder what the story behind that is..._

I sat behind Collin, ready to go before he took my arms and wrapped them around his torso. My heart sped up by being so close to him, I was thankful that I was behind him and he couldn't see the redness rise to my cheeks. Razor carefuly placed Luna in his massive paws before rising from the ground and flying to the castle.

* * *

So, yeah... New Chapter. I hope you all like it and leave a review.

I was recently reading a fan fiction that had links to the pictures to give the readers a proper visual of the character. I thought it was brilliant, so I have adapted that idea. I made a blog with the pictures:

**foreveryourscharacterpics .BlogSpot .com**

The only thing is that this site doesn't let me post links so to get to the blog you have to get rid of the spaces between the periods. If anyne had difficulty, let me know and I will PM you the link.

I hope you like it! Leave a Review and let me know what you think!

Thank you!


	26. Chapter 26

Arriving at the castle we were swarmed by people who were all asking Collin questions, no one seemed to really noticed me as I hid behind Razor. A group of woman swatted their way to me, the elderly lady in the front smiled kindly and took my hand in hers, pulling me away from Razor. I withdrew from her, clinging to Collin but he told me to go with her, she was my lead lady-in-waiting. The old woman smiled again wrinkles crinkling her eyes, she looked so sweet but I didn't want to leave Luna. I glanced to my dragon laying on the stone walkway, she looked so weak but Collin assured me that Luna was in good hands and that he would stay with her until she woke up, so I reluctantly left her side.

The castle was even bigger than I had thought, the halls were so large that Razor could have been doing flips while flying above me and still had room left over. The stones that constructed the walls were gigantic and sparkled as if they were sprinkled with glitter, but I was not allowed to stop and observe, I was being hustled quickly down the hall. I wanted to ask questions about what was happening and where I was going, but I kept my mouth shut and followed the group of ladies as they ushered me through the hall, then up a long flight of stairs, down a smaller hallway, up more stairs until we reached a set of dark wood doors.

I was practically dying from all the steps I had walked up, but my flock was unfazed and pushed me into the room. The first thing I noticed was a large king-size, push bed to my left, it was all I wanted. It looked so perfect and comfy but I was lead away from it's beauty to the larger right sight of the room where there was a living room with a sofa and chairs. We marched past the living room and threw a smaller door which lead to a luxurious bathroom, there was a gorgeous shower with a waterfall head and the furthest wall was a giant mirror! I was in awe of how modern it all looked, I was oblivious to the group of woman who had started to strip me down.

"Woah! WOAH!," I ducked away from their hands. "Stop! What are you doing!?"

The elderly lady from before smiled at me again," We need to clean you for your ceremony."

"Uhmm... Thanks but no thanks. I can clean myself."

"It is required that we do it."

"Why?! I have been bathing myself for the last 13 years!"

"We must treat you, dear. This land is not like the one you came from, we must make sure you are safe from it's plagues."

_Plagues? Like the plague! DO THEY HAVE THE PLAGUE! Am I going to die from natural causes, shit! That's what kills people in the Hunger Games! This is basically the hunger games..._

They leader of the group saw my concern and spoke," There is no need to fear, my child. Once you are protected, we will not clean you anymore if that is what you wish."

I took a deep breath," So this is a one time thing?"

"If that is what you want."

_Okay, so this is basically like a doctor appointment, right? They are just giving my injections, like shots... that's all it is. Except your naked and there is no needles... Oh god._ I studied her for a second, wondering if I could convince her the treatment was unnecessary: she was definitely kind but I also saw her stubbornness as she waited patiently for my response._ There is no way out... just get it over with._

"Okay," I closed my eyes and stripped off my clothes. I felt their cold hands grabbing me, making me flinch; I was uncomfortable with being naked in front of complete stranger, I hadn't even asked their names yet. "What is your name?," I asked without opening my eyes. Someone turned on the water and I withdrew from it's icy touch.

"I am Ertra."

"Well, it's nice to meet you in such... unfortunate circumstances," I gritted my teeth as I felt all their hands gliding over my body, guiding me back into the water.

"This is not unfortunate. This is good. You will be safe and that is good. We are eager to help the Final Rider."

While Ertra was talking to me I heard murmur of other voice, they were quiet but audible and they sounded just like Quinten. _Must be that ancient language, they are literally putting a spell on me... Awesome_, I thought sarcastically.

They were very thorough in their work, I swear they washed my hair like 6 times, but it was finally over and they turned off the water. I was relieved until they took my hands and brought me out into the large room with chairs. I was handed a towel and dried off, until I saw something that caught my eye in the corner. It was white and blinding, my heart sped up believing it was Luna, but when I looked, it was a dress. _When did that get there? That was not here when I got here._

"Ertra, what is that?," I gestured to the dress.

She smiled when she looked at it," That, my child, is your dress for the ceremony."

I wrapped my towel around me and walked to it. The dress was on a mannequin, it was pure white and looked like something from the 1300's. There was silver beading along the neckline that led to the shoulders of the dress. The sleeves were long and made of lace, they looked tight on the upper arm them loosed the closer you got to the hands. I picked up the sleeve to see how long they were, the looked to be as long as the skirt! The torso looked and felt like silk that clung to the mannequin; the skirt of the dress had the same lace as the sleeves which flowed out elegantly from the torso. It was so simple yet so complex, I walked around to the back of the mannequin to see that the beading from the shoulders made a complete circle around the neckline. There was a ribbon corset, and at the base of the corset there was a simple white bow.

"It almost looks like a wedding dress," I mentioned in awe.

"If you do not like it, we can make a different one," Ertra said quickly.

"Oh no! No! It's lovely!," I reassured her.

"Well, good. It is customary for the lady rider to wear a dress the color of her dragon."

"It's a dead match to Luna," I leaned in to look the design of the lace.

"We were very pleased when we saw your dragon and how close the dress resembled her."

"It looks really small though, I don't think I'll fit."

"Fear not, child. We can resize it as you wear it. Are you ready?"

"To wear it?"

"Yes. We need to start getting ready for the ceremony, time is running late."

I turned back to the dress," Sure."

All the ladies rushed over to get the dress off the mannequin and lifted the skirt over my head, my arms were barely through the head hole when I knew it wasn't going to fit. They pulled it off and began working to loosen the material, Ertra walked me over to a large desk with a Hollywood style mirror and sat me in the chair. A few of the girls began brushing my hair while others opened the drawers exposing containers of makeup. The started applying concealer and foundation until Ertra said it was time to try the dress again. This time, we successfully got the dress on, but I was holding my breath in in fear that if I let go I would rip the silk. Ertra told them to make is a little roomier while the remaining girls finished my makeup.

The third time was the charm, the dress fit like a glove. I stood as they finished messing with my hair and added a necklace and a hair band, Ertra smiled and took me to the mirror. My mouth dropped as I gazed at my reflection, _Wow... I actually look nice! Shit, I look awesome! _My hair had light curls that were pinned back with a silver beaded headband, the headband matched the choker style necklace I had on. The girls had done an amazing job on my makeup, I looked flawless: there was no pimples or redness and it looked like they had contoured my face to look slimmer. The dress did most of the work by itself, it was simply perfect. I lifted my arm to see the sleeves move, I felt like I was royalty or something.

"Wow...," I smiled. "Thank you."

"My child, we only dressed you, the beauty in the mirror is all you," Ertra smiled.

I turned to her," Have you heard about Luna? Is she okay?"

Ertra turned to one of the small girls who helped do my hair and told her to go see about my dragon. She scurried from the room while Ertra kept talking, "I don't want you to worry, my child. Dragons are very strong, she will be okay," she glanced outside to see the light of day was lingering faintly, but the sky was turning a dark purple. "It is almost time to go."

Ertra dismissed all the other girls to go and showed me around my room: the bathroom, the living room, my bedroom, and the closet. The closet had some simple legging type outfits in a variety of colors that I guessed were tunics. I also saw shoes lining floor, I crouched to look for something to wear with the dress but all that I had were boots and shoes, nothing fancy. Ertra read my mind and went back to the mannequin and brought back a simple white pair of slippers, I was just happy that they weren't heels.

_"Alyson?"_

My head snapped up," _Luna!?"_

_"Alyson! Yes!"_

_"Where are you?!"_

_"I am in a hall with Razor and Collin, they say you will be coming shortly."_

_"I am coming right now!"_

I got up from my chair and rushed to the door," Let's go Ertra!" I marched down the hall with Ertra trailing closely behind.

"Slow down," she said sternly," You do not want to rip your dress."

I slowed to a quick walk, carefully descending the first flight and scurrying through the hall and down the next flight. I turned down the large main hall and saw the large red dragon next to small white one. _LUNA!_

Her piercing blue eyes snapped to me and I heard her triumphant roar and she galloped to me. I lifted my dress and ran to her, I embraced her tightly," LUNA!"

_"Oh Acorn! You are alright! I am so thankful!"_

"Are you alright? Are you sure!? What did they say?"

_"They said I was fine, just put to sleep from the fall. They were surprised to see not cuts or marks, but I am fine."_

"Thank god!," my eyes watered with joy.

Ertra came from behind me," No tears," she commanded," there is no time to fix your face if you ruin it."

I took a deep breath and clung to Luna's snout,"_ I'm just so happy you're okay."_

_"The same for you, my acorn," _Luna stepped back_," You look quite extraordinary in that dress."_

_"They made it based from you, It's kind of fun! We match!"_

Luna snickered, letting some smoke out of her snout, we then turned and walked to Collin and Razor. Collin was wearing a deep red long sleeve shirt, but it didn't look like a shirt, it looked like a really nice leather jacket with the buttons that go diagonally all the way up to the neck. He was wearing black pants and dark brown boots. He looked hot, the leather shirt clung to him tightly and I had to say he looked nice. I saw he had a belt with a sword dangling from his waist.

"A sword?," I questioned.

Collin just stared at me for a minute," Yes, it's mine."

"That sounds dangerous, you with a sword."

"It is, for my enemies," he smirked, then his eyes looked me up and down, my heart sped up thinking he was going to say I looked stunning or something but all he said was," They really do amazing with matching the dress to the dragon. I thought they would finally have a challenge with Luna's color."

"Oh... yeah."

"Are you ready?," he asked.

"Yeah, I guess. How does this work?"

"They'll announce your name, then we walked through the doors, everyone will be looking at you and Luna as you go down the stairs you will meet the High Queen of Alagaesia, you will bow to her and she will dub you an official rider of Alagaesia! Then we dance, mingle, drink, and party!"

"Wow... so how many people are in there?"

"I don't want to make you nervous, but a lot! All riders in Alagaesia are invited, along with Nobles and Royalty."

My head drifted to earlier that morning, flying through the city seeing all those dragons,_ All of them will be here and all the ones from the arena, plus more...Oh god._

_"Do not be nervous, Alyson. I will be here beside you. We will make it through the night."_

I nodded," Okay. Why are you here and not in there waiting?"

"Well, I'm your escort," he smiled," I get to, in a way, present you to the Queen."

"Didn't you already do that? At the stadium?"

"Well, yes.. but this is official."

I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves, _this is worse than giving a speech in class._

There was large booming voice that interrupted my thoughts," Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, Elves, and Dwarfs: all of Alagaesia's finest and elite! Tonight is a special occasion that will be remembered until the end of Alagaesian existence. Tonight we meet the Final Rider of Earth..."

I tried to tune him out," M'lady?," Collin extended his arm. I had a brief flashback to Darion, but shook my head of the memory and linked my arm in his. "Don't be nervous," he whispered," I know you are going to do great."

"... and now is the time. The final Rider of Earth: Alyson Rider of Luna with her escort Rider Collin of Razor."

The doors in front of me slowly opened and I had to clench my jaw to stop it form dropping open at the sight of the ballroom. I wasn't as surprised by the amount of people as I was by how tall the ceiling was, glancing up I saw large metal perches where there were dragons gazing down at me. There were over 200 of large scaly creatures above me and even move on the floor, I didn't realize how many riders were in Alagaesia. I snapped my attention to the stairs as Collin started to walk forward, I smiled as I looked at the people. Many of them glared back with no expression, but I couldn't stop smiling I was too nervous. We reached the bottom of the stairs and I wanted to punch Collin for not mentioning that we had to walk across the large ballroom to where the Queen sat on the throne.

Collin seemed natural and happy, while I was struggling to not collapse with anxiety. I looked to Luna who was strutting proudly with her head held high, she seemed so confident and cool, _how does she do that?_ I turned back to the throne, _we're almost there, thank god_. I took another deep breath and kept smiling until I was in front of the queen. The row of chairs was almost identical to the ones at the stadium, with Queen Nasuada sitting in the large golden chair. She looked stern with no expression on her face as I approached, she was wearing a beautiful dark purple dress which matched the dark stones in her crown. Her hair was down, it was dark and thick with curls which framed her slender face.

Collin then unhooked our arms and kissed my hand, I didn't want him to leave, I was terrified of the Queen. He could see my fear, he winked and then he and Razor went to stand with the crowd. I stood there for a second, petrified that everyone was staring at me and me alone, there was no Collin that they could be looking at me... it was only me and Luna.

"_Acorn, let's finish this_," Luna snapped back to reality, like she always did. I faced the Queen and smiled as I walked up the small step to her throne.

Queen Nasuada stood as I got closer," Rider Alyson," she nodded.

"Queen Nasuada," I bowed as gracefully as I could, it was a great improvement from my earlier attempts.

"Dragon Luna," she nodded at Luna.

"_High Queen_," Luna bowed her head.

"I officially welcome you to Alagaesia. It is certainty tremendous to have you here, I hope your stay has been pleasant so far."

"...Y-yes ma'am."

A smile lifted the corners of Nasuada's mouth," I'm pleased. You know fair well that Alagaesia is home to all form of magic, am I correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"We are all happy to have you be a part of our magical society, you and Luna belong here. You are Alagaesian to the very core of your being and that is why I grant you the title of Rider of Alagaesia. Do you accept this title?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Dragon Luna, do you accept the title of being a Dragon of Alagaesia?"

_"Of course, High Queen."_

She finally smiled," Very well. It is with great honor that I introduce to everyone: The Final Rider and Dragon of Earth and the newest Rider of Alagaeia: Alyson and her dragon Luna."

There was a combination of clapping from all who had hands and roars from dragons that seemed to vibrate through the room. I let out a sigh of relief,_ It's over!_

"Thank you Queen Nasuada."

"Of course, Rider Alyson," she smiled. "Let the festivities begin!," she turned and sat on her throne.

I stood there, unaware of what I was to do when Collin came back and linked our arms, I felt like I could finally breath again.

"You did perfect, Alyson! So great!," he congratulated as music filled the air along with laughter and talking.

"Thanks."

"_Well done_," Razor commended. "_Both of you."_

_"It was quite simple," _Luna stated and I rolled my eyes with sheer frustration.

"Now the hard part is over, you just get to chill now. Mingle and smile like before and remember to-"

"Keep it short and polite, I know."

He smiled," Great," he turned and started to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll be back," he said while skipping around people.

_Awesome. I don't know anyone here..._

_"You know me_," Luna nuzzled her head against my neck.

I smiled as someone tapped my shoulder and turned and gasped, _Shit._

"We meet again, young Rider," he smiled.

"Corin! You're here? Why are you here?"

"Of course I am, I am a Rider after all."

"Oh yeah."

"May I just say you look ravishing," he grinned, but I shivered. Corin had on a light brown vest with a long sleeve white shirt underneath, he almost looked like a pirate.

"Thank you."

"Where is your escort? Rider Collin? He seems to always be gone when I see you."

"Oh, he had to go do something."

"He must be so busy having to make sure everything goes smoothly."

I nodded," Where is Tholus?"

"He is back at the family home, I go back tomorrow."

"Oh, too bad, I wanted to see him again."

"I would love to have you visit, feel free at any time to come by."

I nodded, _How do I make an excuse the leave this conversation? There is no excuse._

"Would you care to dance?," he extended an arm.

"Dance? Like_ dance_ dance? Is that a thing here?"

"It is a ball after all," he grinned mischievously.

"I don't know how to dance."

"It will be easy, I am a master of the art," he took my wrist and led me to the ballroom floor. He twirled me and wrapped his arms around my waist, it took me a second before I realized I was supposed to put my hands around his neck, but I chose the shoulders instead. Dancing was much simpler than I imagined, it was just taking small steps to the beat.

_"I am going to explore the perches."_

_"Have more fun than me!"_

_"That won't be any trouble."_

"Did I tell you how marvelous you look tonight," Corin whispered in my ear.

"Yeah, you did."

"Certainty not enough to do you justice, Rider," he slid his hands down further, but I grabbed his wrist and guided back to place. He only smiled at my refusal and continued to dance. The longer I spent time with Corin, the creepier he was. The music lasted forever but when it was over I finally had an excuse to leave.

"It was a delight to see you again," he kissed my hand, but it wasn't sweet like how Collin had done it, it was vulgar and gross.

"I'll see you around," I turned and practically fell over someone. "I am so sorry!"

"It's alright. It's okay," the girl smiled at me. "Oh, your the Final Rider, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I am sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay."

"your dress is beautiful, I wish that had a ceremony for us when we first became Riders."

"You didn't have a ball?"

"No, it's only for the Earth Riders."

"Oh.."

"Oh, hey I'm Rhara." Rhara was stunning, she had light brown hair that flowed effortlessly down her back, she was wearing a simple light blue dress and had some flowers in her hair. She had pointed ears so I knew she was an elf and a perfectly sculpted face.

"I'm Alyson."

She smiled," I figured as much. So tell me Alyson, how is Rider Collin doing?"

"Collin? He's okay I guess. Why?"

"Why? Because he is a perfect man. I am so jealous of Ashley, I don't know how she managed to snag him up. I'm not saying she is unattractive but I feel like Collin and I would be a adorable couple. The first human of Earth and blood Alagaesian couple, sounds nice doesn't it? What?," she asked offensively.

"Oh, nothing. You're just not like most elves I have met."

"You mean stuck up and boring? Yeah I'm not like that."

"There are a lot of cute guys here, though," I observed.

"Yeah, we're lucky with that, but they all have a hero complex and want to be the next Eragon."

"Eragon? Is he here?"

"Yeah, he should be up," Rhara turned to the throne but stopped," I guess he left. Have you met him yet?"

"No, not yet, but maybe tonight."

"Yes, maybe. It was great to meet you, but I have to go," and with that she left.

"Bye...," I whispered after her.

_I guess Collin is like the town hottie around here_, I thought. _It seems like everyone likes him or liked him at one point. That's not really surprising, he is gorgeous. _After meeting Rhara, I walked around to meet new people, everyone in Alagaesia was very nice and extremely polite. I thought I was doing extremely well and wanted to brag but Collin was nowhere to be seen. I looked for a while then felt the urge to pee, so I left the ballroom and found the restroom and somehow managed to lift the skirt of my dress to go. As I was leaving and going back to the ball, I saw him. Collin was leaning up against some girl, kissing her neck and giggling. He pulled away and kissed her on the lips while she tangled her fingers in his hair, I saw that it was Ashley and my heart squeaked in pain for a split second before looked away. I turned away mainly because EW, I didn't want to see that and I didn't want them to see me so I hurried back to the ceremony.

I was holding myself together well, Why does _Collin kissing another girl upset me, not like we had anything AT ALL, EVER! But it still hurts... Fuck him. He likes her so what. He didn't lead you on or anything, you just fall too hard. Get up, get on, get over, Alyson._ I talked myself up and smiled as I entered the ballroom again, I glanced around to see who I should go introduce myself to next when I saw a tall boy with blonde curls leaning against the wall in the shadows of the party.

I made my way to him," Fancy meeting you here."

He turned to me with cool gray eyes," I could say the same to you."

* * *

**This chapter is longer than most , but I hope you like it!**

** Please Review!**


	27. Chapter 27

I immediately regretted going up to Quinten._ Why did I do this? What do I say? What do I do? Why did I do this!? _I looked down at my dress, avoiding eye contact only making the situation worse.

_"May I say you look quite extraordinary in that dress, Rider Alyson_," Erea said bashfully while peering her long neck around Quinten.

I smiled and looked up," Thank you Erea."

"Where is your dragon? Luna, right?," Quinten asked.

"Yeah, Luna. She went up there," I looked to the ceiling where the dragons were jumping from perch to perch.

"_I think I will go seek her out. I would like to apologize for the disaster of earlier_," Erea took flight and disappeared into the colorful mix.

"I think I should apologize again, too," Quinten turned to me.

"Oh, no. It's okay: I'm okay, Luna's okay, you guys are okay. I should really be thanking you for helping her."

"No, you shouldn't. She wouldn't of needed my help if I wasn't for my stupidity."

"It was an accident and I forgive you. Is it okay if we stop apologizing?"

Quinten sighed with relief, " Yes," he smiled and his face brightened. "That sounds great. So... how do you like all of this?," he gestured to the mass of people.

I chuckled," It's not bad. I don't like being on display, which is how this feels, like I'm a show pony and all anyone does is judge show ponies. Another thing is that everyone here terrifies me, I have no idea what anyone here can do!"

"Even me?," he arched an eyebrow.

"Especially you," I smirked and he laughed. "No, not you. But here I am afraid of saying something and being beheaded or something."

"Beheaded? No, we don't do that... anymore"

"That's a comforting thought. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you from Earth, too?"

"Me? No," he shook his head. "I was born here."

"Oh..."

"Why?"

"It's just... I was told there were 6 riders from Earth, but I only know of 4."

Quinten nodded slowly," Yeah, well I guess you haven't met Matt yet, huh?"

"Matt, no. Why? Is he an Earth Rider?"

"Yes, but he's very occupied with his studies. He should be here, we'll find him and I'll introduce you."

"Great. And the 6th rider?"

"Technically, that's you," he grinned.

"Obviously," I smiled," Who is the other rider that I haven't met?"

Quinten's smile dropped," We don't talk about the Second Rider of Earth," he said quietly without looking at me.

"Second Rider? You mean Ashley?"

"No."

I waited for Quinten to elaborate by the didn't, he said silent and kept his eyes to the ground. _What does that mean? Ashley isn't the second rider, but Serena said she was? What? I'm so confused! What do I say know? Do I leave? Is he going to tell me about the second rider?_

_"You seem uneasy, Acorn. Are you alright?,"_ Luna asked.

_"Yeah, I'm fine..."_

_"I have met the dragon that we stumbled into earlier: Erea. She seems quite nice."_

_"She is, she is so shy and sweet."_

_"Very much so, I have met many dragons, most of which are happy for our arrival in Alagaesia."_

_"That's good."_

_"Yes, I am having a good time, how are things going with you."_

_"Better than what I had imagined, I officially meeting Quinten, the Rider of the Erea."_

_"If he is anything like his dragon, he must be very nice."_

_"Yeah... Have fun, I wont keep you."_

_"I'll talk to you soon."_

Luna retracted from me and I refocused on Quinten who was just staring out at all the people. I was starting to feel awkward again and didn't know what to do, I was lucky enough that he broke the silence.

"Do you want to dance?," he turned to me.

"What, dance? That must really be a thing here, huh?"

"What?"

"Nothing... I-...I don't really dance."

"Me neither, let's go." Quinten weaved through the people to the space where couples danced; I sighed and followed him, lifting my dress so people wouldn't step on it. He bowed to me and held out his hand. I smiled and curtsied to him, taking his hand; this time I knew to I had to put my hands on his shoulders, so I did it right away hoping to look like I knew what to do. Quinten's hands rested on the swell of my back and pulled me closer to him. I inhaled sharply, shocked by how the distance between us had disappeared. Now that I was so close to him, my arms were too long to rest on his shoulders, so I wrapped them around his neck. He smiled and my heart sped up, _God, he is so pretty! _"Come here often?"

I acted casual," Oh yeah, this old place. I come here all the time."

"Funny I haven't seen you before."

"That is funny."

He chuckled," So, do all humans from earth lie?"

"Yes, it is our most valued quality. Why do you ask?"

"You lied to me."

My mouth fell," When?!" _I never lied to him?!_

"You said you couldn't dance."

His words sunk in, then I dropped my eyebrows and tilted my head with my 'are you serious' look. Quinten just laughed and I stifled my smirk, but he had been right. Dancing with Corin had been stiff and awkward, but with Quinten I just moved and it worked fluidly. Quinten looked really nice in his tight blue shirt, it really made his eyes pop. He was wearing black pants, similarly to Collin, but he was just wearing simple shoes.

"I'm actually surprised you're here," I told him.

"Why?"

"I just didn't think this would be your kind of thing."

"It's not."

"Then why come?"

"The Queen invited me and I didn't want to be rude." I nodded then he continued," I didn't think this would your kind of thing either."

"You'd be right. I'm more of a stay in home and watch TV by myself."

"TV?," he was confused.

"I'll explain later. Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"

"There are a lot of people here...," he glanced around," Want to leave?"

"And go where?"

He shrugged," I don't know."

"I don't know... I don't want to get in trouble for skipping out on the party that was thrown for me."

"Hey, I get that. Don't worry."

"If Collin came looking for me," my voice faded,"... not like he would, but who knows." The image of him and Ashley tangled together in the hall flashed back and I shuddered.

"Yeah, speaking of Collin: where is he? Haven't seen him all night, it's been nice."

"He's... preoccupied."

"With?"

"Ashley," I stated bluntly.

Quinten's eyes widened," Oh. Oh, really? Hmm..."

"What?"

"Nothing," he smirked while shaking his head.

"One day you'll have to tell me why you hate Collin so much."

Quinten's jaw tightened like it had earlier that day, but then released quickly. "That is a long story."

"I'll grab some popcorn."

He chuckled," Maybe next time."

I sighed, _Why do they hate each other? Maybe they are fighting over Ashley,_ I thought mockingly. _EW! WHAT IF THEY ARE!?_ I looked Quinten up and down,_ No.. he wouldn't... Would he?_ Collin kissing Ashley ran through my mind again, but instead of Collin burying his face into her neck it was Quinten. Ashley was giggling and running her hands through his blonde curls and it made my stomach tighten._ No, definitely not!_

I could feel my sweat sliding down my back leaving sticky trails. "It is too hot in here. I need some air." I took both my hands and began fanning myself in the middle of the dance floor.

"Come on," Quinten led me to the large doors that lead out to the main entry hall.

I was hit with a blast of cold and I felt instantly cooler. "Ahhhh!," I sighed with appreciation," This feels so nice!"

"It's not that bad in there. You should see summer in the Hadarac Desert."

"Then why does it look like you just went swimming?" I giggled while looking at Quinten's blonde curls that had deflated and were stuck to his head with perspiration. He had sweat lines on his neck and you could se a sweat stain forming on his chest.

He laughed," This? Oh, yeah before I came I showered," he lied and shook his hair.

"Sure," I smiled sitting on the floor.

Quinten sat by me," Is it weird that I almost killed you earlier today?"

I turned to him," Surprisingly, no."

"Good."

"Why?"

He shrugged," I thought it would be weird, but it's not..."

"Yeah. It's weird that it's not weird... but a good kind of weird."

Quinten nodded, but didn't say anything. We sat there in silence, but it wasn't awkward, it was nice. I wasn't flustered to keep the conversation going, I was okay with just sitting there and watching people leave the party.

_"Acorn, where have you gone?"_

_"Outside, it was too hot."_

_"Collin is looking for you."_

I sighed," _I coming." _I turned to Quinten," Break's over."

"Figures," he grumbled while standing. We reentered the room and slid back to where we had stood by the wall earlier without anyone noticing. "I guess I should go, Collin would not pleased to see you talking to such a lowly human like myself," Quinten turned to me.

"Why would he be mad? You have to tell me."

"Forget it, I'm sorry. But I should probably let you go meet some of Alagaesia's finest."

"Yeah, I guess I need to go meet new people."

"I'll see you around though."

"Will you?," I didn't believe him.

"Yeah, I'll probably see you at the academy sometime."

"Academy?"

He grinned," Oh yeah." Quinten eyes flickered to something behind me and his smile fell. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Collin was descending the steps, walking towards us. "I should go."

"That might be best," I turned back to him. "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Count on it," he smiled then walked away. I spun to face Collin who was practically in front of me, his face was tight and his eyes were angry.

"I've been looking for you everywhere?!," he crossed his arms and glared at me.

"Really?," I folded my arms with attitude. "Is that so?"

"Yes. People have come from all across Alagaesia to meet you and your over here whispering with... You haven't met anyone!"

"Yes I have," I said defensively.

"Quinten doesn't count."

"Why not? He's a person, whom I have met." Collin sighed with aggravation, I could tell he was ready to chew my ass out so I kept going, "If you really cared you wouldn't have left me alone! You would have introduced me to people. Where do you go anyway?" I wanted to see if he would tell the truth or not.

"I-I had to do a j-job for the Queen," he stammered, his eyes shifting with uncertainty.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," he said confidently while returning my stare.. _Sticking your tongue down Ashley throat is a job from the Queen? _I almost called him out, but then I stopped myself, _Why do I care? I don't. Let him be with Ashley, who cares? Whatever._

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes.

"We need to make up for lost time," Collin linked arms with me and led me to the nearest group of people. "Hello," he smiled while interrupting their conversation," Have you met the Final Rider yet?"

That was literally all we did for the next 3 hours: Collin would go up to a group, most people here knew him so he struck up a conversation, then introduced me to them all. I learned so many names, many that I could never pronounce again. Some of them were Riders, in that case they would call their dragon down to meet me too. My feet were blistering from my shoes and my dress was so stiff and uncomfortable; all I wanted to do was go to bed. Collin was relentless, there was no stopping him once he got started, I think he introduced me to everyone at the party.

Finally the room was growing less and less dense, only a few hundred were left. Collin was leading me away from a nice rider and his wife when I saw the girl I had almost tripped over earlier, she looked at me and waved. I smiled and waved back which she took as an invitation.

"Hello again, Final Rider," She smiled and then glanced to Collin.

"Hey," I replied. _Oh God, what's her name?_

"Rider Collin, how proud you must be to have found the last of your species," she gazed up at him with big eyes.

_Last of his species? Humans? There are literally billions more on Earth. Maybe she means Earth Riders..._

He smiled," Thank you, Rider Rhara. It is a great feeling to have everyone safe in Alagaesia."

_RHARA! That's her name!_

"Perhaps now, you'll have more leisure time?"

"I don't know, training the new rider may take longer than the others."

"Hey," I folded my arms offended.

Collin grinned," Don't be insulted. It takes time to master the art of dragon riding."

Rhara interrupted," Well, if you have anytime please do call. Galvic misses spending time with Razor, he would be delighted to see him again and maybe go on a hunt/"

"Of course, we will have to schedule time to see one another."

Rhara smiled brightly," I await your call," she then walked past us to the exit. _Maybe she'll break Ashley and Collin up._

"She's nice," I said.

"She's something," Collin sighed. "You did fairly well tonight."

"Wow, that was almost a compliment."

Collin sighed and rubbed his eyes,"Why don't we call it a night? You can get some sleep or wander the castle, whatever you want." He obviously wanting to leave, but I still had 2 people I wanted to meet.

"What about Matt? Can I meet him?... OH, and Eragon!"

"Matt. Who told you about-... Did Quinten tell you about Matt?"

"Yeah, he said he was another one of the Riders of Earth!"

"Of course he did," Collin muttered. "Well, Matt is preoccupied in the Library and as for Eragon," he turned to search the room. "He might have left already, he is a very important man."

"Shouldn't meeting one of his Riders should be a priority?"

"Alyson, it was most likely an emergency. Don't let it get to you, you'll get to meet him soon enough. Do you want me to walk you back to your room?"

"Uhmm... no. No thanks," I smiled.

"Are you sure," he said while backing away, already leaving.

"Yeah."

"Alright, have a good night."

"You too," I mumbled. "_Luna?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Are you ready to leave?"_

_"I am having a fantastic time! Do we have to leave?"_

_"No... we don't. I'll probably leave though."_

_"Alright, I'm coming."_

_"No! Luna, you are having fun: stay!"_

_"Certainty not, not without my Rider. Let me make my farewells."_

A small smile formed on my lips,_ How did I get so lucky? I have the best dragon._ Luna gracefully landed beside me moments later and we walked out of the ballroom.

_"Where did Collin go?"_ She asked as we walked towards the staircase.

_"He... he went to go be with Ashley."_

_"How do you know? Did he say this?"_

_"No, but I saw them together. It was why he left, to go see her."_

Luna snorted with distain,"_Why are all males from Earth so idiotic? Do they eyes not work, how can they not see your beauty?"_

_"Ah, I can see how you're confused. I'll tell you why: it's because I'm not beautiful, not by any standard."_

_"Do not say such things! You are the most beautiful human I have ever seen, in either world I have been."_

_"Thanks, Luna." _We reached the stairs ascending to the next floor, looking at them I noticed how narrow they were. _"I don't think you'll fit."_

_"Agreed."_

_"I'll run up to the room and open a window, I have a fairly big one that might open."_

_"That sounds promising."_

I ran up the stairs, having to stop and take a breath, _I am out of shape! _I made it and scurried down the hall and burst into my room, running to the window. It had a wired latch, but I managed to open it and push it outwards. Luna flew in, barely squeezing through the space; I could tell the room was not meant to accommodate a dragon because Luna was knocking things over and bumping into all the furniture.

"Hold on!" I pushed my couch and chairs to the wall and moved the end tables up towards my bed. It left the living area open with room for Luna to be comfortable, "YEAH! Look at that! It's perfect."

_"Until I grow."_

_"Way to ruin the moment!"_

Luna snicker and rolled up on the floor as I started undressing. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to unlace the corset, once I did that the dress slide off and I felt relieved. _I can breath! _I put the dress back on the mannequin in the corner and debated putting on pajamas, _It's my room, I can just sleep in my underwear. _I glanced over at Luna who had her eyes closed_, maybe I should put a shirt on._

My luggage had been brought up and placed by the door like I was staying at a hotel. I rummaged to find my toothbrush and went to the bathroom. I was so exhausted just looking at the bed made me want to collapse. I peeled back the crisp sheets and slid in,_ this is better than a hotel!_

_"Goodnight Acorn...,"_ Luna mumbled sleepily.

_"Goodnight Luna."_

* * *

**Another Chapter! Woot Woot!**

**I have a question for all my readers: ****Do you think I should make Forever Yours into a multiple book adventure or just ONE really long novel?**

**I have a great idea that I want to explore with the plot, but it may be longer than most books if I keep it contained within Forever Yours. I would like your opinions so I can know what you want me to do! I write for you- all my faithful viewers. Thank you!**


	28. Chapter 28

I could feel myself beginning to wake up, but I protested by snuggling deeper into the comforters. I made my mind blank and took a deep breath but it was no use, I was awake. I groaned and flipped to lay on my back stretching my strained muscles and opened my eyes slowly to the blank white ceiling far above me. _I wonder if mom made pancakes_, I thought while sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

My surrounding hit me all at once and I was caught in the realization that I was nowhere near home. I had not dreamed finding a dragon, this was real. I was in Alagaesia. I sighed slowly looking out to my room, _this is real. _I saw Luna was still slumbering on the floor, I silently climbed out of bed and crept to the bathroom. When I came back Luna was waiting for me with wide eyes.

_"Did you sleep well?"_

"Yeah, it was great."

_"I found the floor to be very different to what I am accustomed to, I miss the smell of the soil and the trees."_

"What time is it?," I walked to the large window where the sunlight streamed into the window. Unfortunately I had no view of the city from my room, just bricks and more bricks.

_"Around midday."_

"Midday? Do they not have real time here?"

"_Time has no relative meaning to me."_

"What are we supposed to do all day?" I looked down and saw a courtyard below, we were about 2 stories high, looking up I saw more floors that I had yet to explore.

_"I was unaware that we had a agenda. No one had come to the door, I would have awoken. I guess the day is ours to do as we wish."_

"We should go see more of this castle."

_"Yes, it is quite marvelous. I doubt I will be allowed everywhere, this castle was not made for the comfort of dragons."_

I went and rummaged through my closet, _What is this?... Do people wear this?... How do I put this on?...No, just no. There is a reason this style went out of fashion. _I gave up and got some jeans and a shirt from my suitcase. I opened the door and waited for Luna to follow, but the door was too small for her to get through.

"_Not for the comfort of dragons_," She repeated irritated. "_Perhaps you should go alone."_

"What!? No way! In the movies, when someone explores on their own they see something they don't want to or get killed. You can fit, just squeeze."

Luna fit her head through the door, followed by her upper torso until she was stuck. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled as she pushed herself and we fell into the hallway. I giggled and stood up to see the deep etches of Luna's claws on the tile of the floor.

_"Oh shit... come on. Let's go,"_ I walked down the hall past the narrow staircase, the only stairs which I knew about. In the hallway there was plenty of room for Luna to walk with me, we walked by many doors similar to the one at my room. I tried to open one but it was locked, so we continued walking. The walls of the castle were similar to what were portrayed in many movies: torches mantled the wall, large tapestries and pictures. Luna and I reached the end of the hall where there was a large staircase which we took to the next floor.

"What do you think is in this huge castle?," I asked her.

_"I wouldn't know. I suppose there are many rooms."_

"Obviously," I rolled my eyes," But what is in the rooms? Secrets? Dead bodies? Do you think there are ghosts and stuff here? This place just reminds me of Hogwarts so much."

_"I did not know that you had been to another castle?"_

"I haven't. I read about in a book, then saw it in a movie," I pulled on a doorknob but it was locked so I moved on," I bet there are secret rooms and crawlspaces all over this place. Old buildings always have stuff like that in movies and my life is basically a fairytale now."

_"You should ask the Queen."_

"What? Why would she tell me that? If I had secret rooms in my house, I wouldn't tell anyone about them or else they wouldn't be secret. Besides, the women terrifies me."

_"Really? I find her to be quite admirable and respectable."_

"You don't even know her!"

_"Neither do you."_

I rolled my eyes and pulled the handle to a set of doors, which opened with a click. I smiled and pushed them open to see a bedroom, exactly like mine. I walked in slowly," Hello?," I said aloud but received no answer. _I'm just setting myself up for a horror movie scene._

This room was much darker than mine, the curtains were drawn and there was no source of light. I walked over and opened the curtains so let the light in, once I did I saw that the decorations for this room were much darker than my own, mine were all light blue while this room was a forest green. From what I saw, no one lived here; there were no pictures of trinkets, the bed was made and tidy, and there were no clothes on the floor or anything. I walked to the closet and saw there were a few tunics in hanging and a pair of dark slippers on the floor.

"_Alyson, we should go. It is rude to intrude on someone's privacy_," Luna said from the hall.

I scoffed," No one lives here, Luna. It's probably a guest room," I sat on the edge of the bed.

_"I can smell the scent of a male presence, it lingers in the air."_

"That doesn't mean that someone lives here, it could just be an old smell," I walked back to the door.

_"I could be, but I do not wish to be scolded on our first day in the castle."_

"Fine," I sighed and closed the door of the room behind me and we ventured further down the hall. "Luna, do you think they will let us leave? I mean, what if they don't let us go back home?"

_"Don't worry about such things. I'm sure that they will respect our wishes."_

_"_Hey, remind me to call my mom when we get back to the room."

We walked in silence down the hall and turned at the intersection which led to a much longer hall with more doors. I stopped trying to open the doors, all of them had been locked which made me believe that someone did live in the dark green room. We went up another flight of stairs and I was surprised to see that there were guards stationed along the wall.

_"Why are there guards?,"_ I asked Luna through our link.

_"Why do you assume I have the answer to these questions?"_

Walking past them, I could feel their eyes glued to me. None of them spoke or even moved, but I still felt uneasy. Luna and I continued walking until we reached another flight of stairs which we decided to go down, we went all the way down to the main floor. I saw a door with a window which led us outside, it was a beautiful day; the sun was warm and bright, the grass was soft and green and the sky was simple blue.

_"It is quite breathtaking here in Alagaesia,"_ Luna said.

"It's beautiful," I admitted. My stomach grumbled, I could feel my hunger growing. "I'm hungry."

_"As am I, but where do we go for a meal here? Do I hunt?"_

"I'm not sure... I can text Collin."

**Luna is hungry, does she hunt?**

I put my phone back in my pocket and sat on the grass, Luna lay down beside me and put her head in my lap. I stroked her smooth scales and she purred like when she was a baby. My phone vibrated with a text:

**No, There is a dining hall.**

**Where?**

"Collin says there is a dining hall," I tell Luna.

_"Good, I am ready to eat."_

** I can just show you.**

**Okay.**

"He is going to show us."

_"After we eat, do we have a plan? If not, we should try a flying session. I believe it would be great fun and practice to fly."_

I groaned," Why do you do this to me?"

_"We could use the experience and you know it."_

"Yeah, fine. We'll fly."

**Answer the door.**

**Oh, sorry. We're not in the room.**

**Where are you then?**

**Outside, in a courtyard.**

**Get inside now.**

"Come one, let's go inside," I stood up," Collin is being weird."

**I'm inside.**

**I'm on the way.**

"He's coming," I relayed to Luna and my stomach growled again.

I heard Collin before I saw Collin, the walls were so big and empty every step echoed through them.

"Hey," I smiled when I saw him.

"Why did you leave your room?," he huffed as he approached.

"I didn't realize I was supposed to stay."

"Alyson, you can't just walk around like you know this place, you don't. You could have been hurt."

"What? Are you serious? How would I get hurt in the Queen's castle and with Luna?"

"This is serious, I could have got in trouble if you had been injured."

"Well, I'm not so..."

Collin sighed deeply," come on, I'll show you the dining hall."

_"He seems upset,"_ Luna observed.

_"He is always mad when he talks to me."_

_"It's rude to talk about someone when they are right here," _Collins voice spoke to my mind.

I stopped walking mid stride," How did you do that?"

Collin stopped and spun to me," It's not hard, you don't have a wall around your subconscious."

"But Luna and I have worked on keeping the conversation between us."

"That is true, I couldn't hear it until I entered your mind."

"EW! Stay out of my head!," I shouted.

"_Be calm_," Luna reminded.

"I'm sorry," Collin apologized. "But you should really try to control your thoughts and your mind," he turned and continued down the hall.

My mouth fell and I turned to Luna, she shook her head as if to tell me it was not worth the argument and followed Collin. I scoffed and huffed as I followed her to the dining hall. The dining hall was enormous, not as big as the ballroom, but still huge. Collin showed us how to get food and sat next to us as we at, but we did not talk. Luna torn into her animal carcus and I ate some chicken type meat and noodles. When we were done, I stood and Luna followed me and we left the dining hall without a word, just when I was about to say something to Luna I saw Collin was behind us.

"What do you want?," I snapped.

"Apparently I have to watch you so you stay out of trouble."

"I don't need a babysitter," I gritted my teeth.

"The Queen instructed I show you the academy today anyway."

_Academy? Quinten said something about an academy._ "What Academy?"

"The Training Academy. All riders have to train how to be a Rider, there are a lot of instructors on many topics, all who have learned from the Master himself: Eragon," Collin explained as we walked outside. "It is mostly a combat school to help you learn to fight and battle, but it also teaches the ancient language and magic."

"Will Eragon be there?"

Collin considered," It is possible."

"I thought Eragon left, at least he did in the books. He left Alagaesia forever."

"That is true. Eragon left on his voyage to find the place to train Riders, but he searched for many years with little luck. He returned to Algaesia and-..."

"But I thought his fortune said he would never return!," I interrupted.

"Yes, it did, but fortunes change... everything can change," Collin's voice faded. "But, when he returned he realized that Alagaesia was the one and only home of the dragons so he set up the school right here.

"Collin, how long do I have to stay here?," I changed the subject.

"Uhm, that is not my decision. The Queen is the one to discuss that with."

"When can I talk to her?"

"I'm sure you'll see her soon."

"But-..."

"Look," Collin pointed to a large building on the outskirts of the city. "There it is! That is Thrífa Du Kenna."

"Trid de ken what?," I thought I misheard him.

"It translates to: seize the know. Basically, grab knowledge or gain information: Thrífa Du Kenna!," he smiled happily. "Are you ready?"

"Are we walking?"

Collin's laugh ringed aloud," Of course not! We'll fly," he said as Razor landed beside him.

_Wow, that was planned,_ I thought._ There is no way Razor came as a coincidence. Why does everything here have to be so showy and movie like._

_"Finally! I have been anxious to take flight with you again_," Luna said giddily.

I smiled and mounted her carefully," _Just be gentle."_

She took off in a sprint and leaped into the air, I closed my mouth to contain my yelp. I tried to watch my eyes water from the fierce wind rushing past me, I closed my eyes and leaned into Luna. I just listened to the sound of her wing flapping and felt all her muscles hard at work to stay at flight, it was very soothing. Luna landed and I jumped down and saw Razor land next to us.

The building before me was huge, it was almost a perfect square with large green flags at the entrance. There were words etched into the building, most likely the title of the academy. It was very busy, people and dragons were walking around in all direction, each with their own specific task. I saw a yellow dragon leap into the air and soar back to the city and an large boy ran into through the entrance quickly.

"Wow...," I said quietly.

"It's quite miraculous. The inside is even better!," Collin guided me to the doors. "Razor, show Luna where the dragons train."

I didn't want Luna to leave me, but I held my tongue and we entered through the doors. The building was tall and spacious, and I couldn't hear myself think. I heard the clanging of swords, people shouting to one another, and dragons roaring. I didn't want to walk through the maze of obstacles, I was too afraid to accidently be impaled by a sword or someone throwing something from the upper floor and it hitting my head.

As Collin guided me along he talked," This is the sparring section, we also have another one much larger outside. Upstairs there is a production part of the school, where you learn survival skills in the wild like how to start a fire and how to make a shelter."

I wasn't really listening as he talked, I was watching these two elves battle one another. They were so intense and graceful and they dodged each other's attacks and struck to injure. Neither of them landed a blow but they continued to strike and dodge, it looked like they were dancing and it as beautiful as they spun and circled one another.

A blinding light came from my side and I turned to see what it could be: it was Collin leading me outside to the to the Dragon portion of training.

"Dragons need their own space to train, they are massive and intelligent, as you already know. We have many older dragons to help aide them in their learning, it even looks as if Saphira herself is here."

"Saphira? Eragon's dragon?," I was immediately focused.

"Yes, she is there," he pointed to a group of dragons.

I saw her, she was bigger than the rest of them and a deep shiny blue. She looked like she was talking to her children, so wise and strong. I watched as the other dragons listening to her, gazed with awe and wonder. Luna was there at the very back watching intently to whatever the large blue dragon was saying.

"Can I meet her, too?," I asked Collin without turning to him.

"You want to meet her?"

"Of course."

"Yeah, sure I guess," he began walking toward her and I followed quickly.

My heart was pounding due to my nerves, it wasn't even the fact that I was approaching a herd of dragons, it was the fact that I was approaching her. Saphira was the first dragon to be known in all of Alagesia, she and Eragon defeated the old king! She was a legend here, most likely a celebrity and I was just going to waltz up and be introduced.

We stayed behind the dragons, waiting for her to finish her lesson before speaking. Most of the dragons were huge, I mean 5 times the size of Luna, but Saphira was far greater probably 15 to 20 times bigger. I thought she was done because many of the dragons departed to go about their day.

Luna came up to me," _Isn't she divine?"_

_"She is beautiful."_

_"You are too kind, young ones_," a deep but feminine voice sang into my head.

I snapped my head to look at her, I knew it had been Saphira and I was now sweating with anxiety. "I-Im s-s-sorry. I forgot t-t-t-..."

_"Fear not. It was a compliment I am grateful to receive." _

"Ebrithil Bjartskular [1]," Collin said loudly, then bowed partially, " Eom sjon ono, pomnuria ilia isa [2]."

_"Rider Collin_," she acknowledged him," _It is not necessary for you to address me in the ancient language, we should speak in a language known by all."_

"Of course, Ebrithil Bjartskular. My apologies."

"_Now, to finally meet the Final Rider of Earth, this is quite a day_," she returned her large blue eyes to me. _"I have come to know that your name is Alyson, is it not?"_

"Yes, ma'am," I looked to grass afraid of her judgment.

_"And this young dragon of yours, her name is Luna."_

_"Yes, I am Luna,"_ Luna spoke finally. _"It is an honor to meet you, I have heard many stories of your life."_

_"I'm sure none of them are quite extraordinary as this: coming to a new world, seeing things you have never known before. Eragon told me of his travels to Earth, from what I hear it is remarkable. Buildings reach the skies, carts that pull themselves and boxes that have every answer you need only ask the question."_

"Yes, ma'am."

_"I was unable to go with him on this journey, it was so hard to parted for so long. The connection between Rider and Dragon are severed when one goes through the portal, I do not wish that pain onto anyone," _Saphira said softly.

"I'm sorry."

_"Be not sorry,"_ she adjusted her attitude to a happier one,"_ It lead to great discoveries for us. We now are advancing in many area due to our trip to your world, and for that I thank you, and you Rider Collin."_

"It was Eragon who made these discoveries and him alone."

_"Best to keep him modest,"_ she chuckled. _"Luna... you bear a resemblance to a dragon I know."_

_"Really?," _Luna squirmed with excitement.

_"Yes, he is one who does not involve himself in the activities of our time. His Rider, Frammu, was a soldier in the Dwarf army before becoming a rider, when he did he chose to live a life of isolation in The Spine. I have not seen him in many years, but you share many qualities."_

_"Really? What is he like!?"_

_"Frammu's dragon: Cernec, was as white as the snow on the mountain peaks. I had never seen, and have yet to see a dragon as white as him. You are so close, possibly the same to his shade, it is uncanny. Perhaps you two are a part of the old stories."_

"Old stories?,"_ I asked._

_"Yes. It is said by some that Dragons of the same shade are in a way known to one another by bloodline."_

"You mean, they are related? Are you saying Luna has a dad and that he is alive!?," I was shocked by my words.

_"It is very possible that Cernec is of the same bloodline as you, Luna. I, for one, do believe that dragons of the same shade are linked in a way unknown to the rest of us, but I have yet to find mine."_

"That's so awesome!," I jumped and hugged Luna. "THIS IS GREAT NEWS!"

_"I am in shock! I could have a family line? That is news I would not have guessed for myself! Thank you!,"_ She said to Saphira.

_"Now, settle you thoughts. Many do not believe this to be true and say that Dragons of the same shade are meant to mate and produce more of their color, but I for one do not believe in that. The heart should decide one's life, my heart lead me to Eragon and to Firnen."_

"You are so nice!," I said to her. "To be honest, I was scared to meet you, I thought you would-..."

"As always, Ebrithil, it has been a great delight. We bid you farewell as I take her back to the castle," Collin interrupted me and started pushing me back towards the school.

_"Do not forget, Rider Collin of the council, they wish to speak to you."_

"Yes, of course," he smiled and continued walking.

_"I am to inform you to bring Alyson and Luna as well, this is now for all Riders of Earth."_

Collin stopped walking," What? All Riders? What happened?"

_"It is not my place to tell you, nor is it your place to ask,"_ she said sternly.

"Yes of course. Forgive me, Ebrithil."

_"I shall see you all there. Until then,"_ Saphira said before leaving my mind.

Collin continued to lead me away from the large blue dragon," What the hell was that! You just cut me off mid sentence!," I pulled away from him.

"Stop this! Stop acting like you know what to do here! You have no idea what you are saying when you talk, you can't just say what's on your mind you could be killed!"

"REALLY? YOU THINK SAPHIRA, ERAGON'S DRAGON, WAS GOING TO KILL ME FOR SAYING WHAT I WAS THINKING!"

"NO! I DON'T! Now be quiet!," Collin demanded. " If she were to tell everyone else what you say to her, wheels of a plan could start spinning and who knows what happens next. Admitting weakness is admitting defeat."

"That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"

"Well, I know this place so let's just go with it."

* * *

**[1] Master Dragon**

**[2] To see you, my happiness rises**

**CHAPTER 28!**

**Thank you so much everyone! All the guest reviews and all of my long time commenters, it means a lot that you keep coming back for more. **

**I have read your suggestions and I think I will make this into a multistory novel! Don't worry, I will tell you all when the new one is up. I have a few more chapters for this novel and then it will with Book 2. The end is near! Haha.**

**Thank you again for all your support! Leave a Review!**


	29. Chapter 29

Collin brought me back to my room and left on what he called business, but I knew he was lying, he had a habit of doing that to me. He said he would come back shortly to take me to a council meeting. I chose to take a nap in my comfy bed and it was amazing while Luna huffed impatiently, she wanted to go out and see Alagaesia but _apparently_ we were not even allowed outside the castle without an escort.

After my short slumber, I took my clothes out of the bags and put them in the closet. I wanted to brighten up my room trying to make it my own, but I didn't bring anything of my belongings with me beside my clothes. I put my laptop on the dresser and went to plug it in when I saw there were no outlets in the room. I was panicking as I searched the wall for a plug in, but their was only rock. _How will I charge my computer? My phone?! What happens when my phone dies?! WHAT WILL I DO? How does Collin's phone still have battery? How do we even get connection here, there are no towers or anything?_

A knock on the door almost made me drop my computer, but I gripped it tightly. "Hello?," I asked.

"Rider Alyson, you are summoned by the Council," a small voice replied.

"Hold on," I set my computer on the desk and opened the door and smiled when I saw Ertra," Hey Ertra!"

"Hello, Rider," she smiled and entered the room," I am here to see if you need any assistance."

I shrugged," No, I'm good."

Ertra scanned me with a disapproving look," Are you sure that is what you wish to wear?"

I glanced down, I was wearing skinny jeans with a white tank top and a gray cover up. "I think I'll be okay. What do you think? Its causal but I don't look I rolled out of bed, right?."

"It is quite unusual, but if it is what you wish to wear, I will not object."

"Okay. So, I thought Collin was coming to get me?"

"That was planned, yes. But now the meeting has been rescheduled to a sooner time so Rider Collin is occupied with duties. They have sent me to summon you."

"That's cool. Let's go! Ready Luna?"

_"I am ready to uncover the meaning of this meeting," s_he stood.

Ertra seemed dazed and looked like she was going to fall over," Are you okay?," I asked her.

"I will never get used to the voices entering my mind. It is so strange," she smiled.

I giggled," Yeah, it takes some getting used to."

"_Forgive me, Ertra. I did not mean to startle you_," Luna apologized.

"No! Oh, no! you need not apologize to me Dragon Luna! It is all my fault," Ertra said quickly. "Are you ready to leave, Rider Alyson?"

"Yeah, let's go, but first," I went and opened the window," Luna can meet us downstairs right?"

"The council commences on the 5th floor usually, but I am lead to believe that we will be meeting in the ballroom this evening."

"Great, See you down there," I said to Luna as she leapt out into the early evening air.

Ertra and I walked down the stairs to the ballroom, the same place I had my party the other night. Luna was sitting at the door and when I was about to push open the doors to go in Ertra stopped me.

"This is where I leave you, Rider Alyson."

"Oh, you don't go into the meetings?"

Ertra scoffed," Me? I am nothing but old lady, I have no purpose in there. It would make me mad, politics are not the place for me."

"Oh... okay. Thank you, Ertra."

"Of course, Rider Alyson," she turned and scurried off down the hall.

I turned to Luna," I hate these doors, all they do is make me anxious."

_"Fear not, my Acorn. I am beside you."_

I took a deep breath and pushed the large wooden door open and it was just as horrifying as I thought it would have been. All eyes turned to me and Luna, and I could feel my hands turn cold and clammy. Luna stepped through next to me and held her head highly like she always did, she was never embarrassed or ashamed. The ball room seems much bigger now that it was mostly empty, the stage at the end of the room was the same and that was were everyone was. What I assumed to be the council was sitting in the seats like they had been at the Ball while all the riders were lined up in front of them next to their dragon.

Collin and Razor were at the far most right, next was Ashley and Diamond, then Serena and Verona, lastly was a boy I had never seen before standing next to a fairly large green dragon. He was about as tall as me with short brown hair that was styled as a bowl cut, he had glasses and was heavier than me. _Matt? _The row of chairs was just like the ones that had been at the arena the day I arrived, except now here were two giant dragons on either side of the stage. One I identified as Saphira, the other was a light green.

"Rider Alyson," a loud voice snapped my attention to the Queen. "Could you join us, please?"

I jumped and quickly walked down the stairs and rushed to the open spot next to the green dragon and stood there without looking up to the council.

Luna stood beside me,"_ Be not afraid,"_ she said softly. I raised my head to look at all the people sitting in the chairs before me, I saw that the chair beside the Queen was now occupied by a man. He was incredibly handsome but I could tell he was older by his eyes, they seemed so sad and filled with memories of sorrow. I knew that the chair on Queen Nasuada's other side was the elf Queen Arya, then beside her the chair was empty followed by the Dwarf King Orik. Next to Eragon was also empty which was confusing, _why are some people missing?_

"Thank you, Rider Alyson. I am pleased to have you all here," Queen Nasuada smiled. "We have some very important topics to talk about, but before we do, I think that the council should introduce ourselves to be known by all. I will go first: I am High Queen Nasuada, ruler of all of Alagaesia."

Arya stood gracefully," I am Arya Dröttningu, the Queen of the elfish population and Rider of the dragon Firnen," she sat down.

"I suppose that it's my turn," the dwarf stood," I am King Orik from Tronjheim ," he shuffled his feet momentarily before sitting back down.

All eyes turned to the man sitting beside Queen Nasuada, he stood up and cleared his throat. "I am Eragon Kingkiller, Rider of Saphira and defender of Alagaesia."

My jaw dropped, _ERAGON!? THE REAL LIFE ERAGON!? ... OH MY GOD! He is gorgeous, what is he like 500 years old or something!? HOLY SHIT! I can't believe he is real!_

"Very good," Nasuada said," Now we are to address the matter of this council. I will remind our guests that this council is private and any information revealed is to stay within these wall," she looked to us making sure we nodded in agreement. "I'm sure there are a few who are puzzled by their attendance here, I will enlighten you of the predicament at hand. You all know of Tarathi, the mad elf who opened the portal between Alagaesia and Earth, he is the same elf that blessed you with the title of Riders. Once he was banished to the other realm, I made the executive decision to seize all of his work to keep in safe hands. Tarathi was very unusual and wrote all of his notes and journals in code, one which none had seen before. No one could crack his code, until Rider Matthew joined us," she smiled.

I turned to the boy and I saw his cheeks deepen to a crimson red," Thank you Queen."

"Now that we can read his work, new information has been given to us. Information that troubles the council as well as myself. Matthew, could you please tell your fellow Riders of your discovery."

"Certainty," Matthew stepped forward and turned to look at us," It is with a heavy heart I inform you, my fellow Riders of Earth of the curse we bear. Tarathi was beyond foaming at the mouth when he formed his plan to steal dragon eggs, but no one stopped and questioned why he did it. We now know that Tarahti stole these eggs to cast a spell on them."

"A spell? What do you mean?," Collin asked.

"A binding spell," Matthew clarified. "A spell that when the dragon hatched for it's rider that their bond would be strong, stronger than any other. In theory, this spell allows the Rider to bind with more than one dragon."

"Wait?! WHAT!?," Serena shook her head is disbelief.

"Thank you Matthew," the Queen dismissed him, "Are we all familiar with the tale of Skulblaka Ebrithil [1]?"

All other Riders nodded except me,_ How was I supposed to know this story? I just got here like 2 days ago!_

"The tale of Skulblaka Ebrithil is a mythical story that tells of a Rider before the death of dragons who bonded with many. He had his own army of dragons, all faithful to him, all connected with mind and soul. It was said his body was covered from head to toe and that it shone like the sun from his many gedwëy ignasias[2]. But his life was full of pain and agony, he could never show all of his affection to his dragons. The fear of neglecting his companions was too much for the Rider to bear, he took his own life and with that he took every dragon bounded to him as well."

"That's terrible," I said softly.

_"Unspeakable_," Luna confirmed.

Ashley interrupted," I'm sorry my Queen, but this is impossible! A rider can only be bound to one dragon, it has been that way since the existence of Dragons. We have all heard the tale and seen it to be false."

"Yes, Rider Ashley, this has been the case with all dragon eggs that have hatched without a spell attached. This is the first time in our history that an egg has hatched with a binding spell. Tarathi made this spell himself, so it is impossible for any other egg to have this same spell attached."

"Are you saying that we can bind to another dragon!?," Ashley squeaked.

"It is possible," Eragon spoke," but only to other eggs that have been casted upon. In normal circumstances, a dragon in an egg can tell when a presences is bound to another, but with this spell the hatchling cannot feel the connection so it my hatch."

"But you just said that no other eggs could possibly have the spell attached!," Serena crossed her arms.

The ballroom rang with silence we all stood there in dismay, _What? What does this mean?_

_"Luna does this mean you're sick?,"_ I turned to her worried.

Luna looked shocked and unsettled,"_ No... it means that I am cursed."_

_"Cursed?" I turned to the council," How do we undo it? Can we turn it off or something?"_

"It is not that simple," Arya sighed.

"How do we know for sure our dragons are casted upon?," Collin asked.

"We cannot be certain that Tarathi followed through with his goal to cast on your eggs, but I believe it is so."

"Why?," I asked without hesitation.

"Matthew decoded some of Tarathi's journals which spoke of how to determine who would be the Skulblaka Ebrithil. The first identifier would be the gedwëy ignasia, he said it was to look like a cut across the palm... which you all have."

I held out my hand to see my mark, it looked like a faded scar except for it's white tinge.

"That means nothing!," Serena defended. " All gedwëy ignasia are different, it varies from Rider to Rider."

"If that is true, why do ours all match exactly?," Matthew said quietly holding out his hand. I squinted to his mark, it was simple green line slicing through his palm, just like mine.

_"You all forget the most important thing said so far that Rider Serena has mentioned,"_ Razor said loudly. _"Tarathi only stole 6 dragon eggs, all eggs have hatched and been accounted for. There is no way for any of you to steal a dragon away from their Rider. No more eggs means that there is no chance of a Skulblaka Ebrithil."_

"That's true," Ashley said then she looked up to the Queen who looked calm and collected but Ashley kept staring," but... they wouldn't be telling us this if there weren't more eggs that could hatch."

Arya spoke confidently," It is with great misfortune we reveal a secret that has been kept for hundreds of years. This information is sensitive and not to leave this room. Tarathi stole 6 eggs from Eragon before his departure, this is known by all but we neglected to mention that on the same day 4 other eggs were taken from the Vault of Souls."

"What?! That's impossible!," Collin shouted.

"How did he do that?," Serena asked.

"We are still unaware of his methods," Eragon said," all we know is that he did it, he left behind his knife to mock us. We were reluctant to tell this to the public so as to not cause a panic, so we chose to only reveal that 6 had been taken."

"So does this mean that there are more Riders from Earth?," I asked.

"No. Tarathi did not send the remaining 4 eggs to the other world, he hid them throughout Alagaesia."

"How do you know this?," Ashley asked.

"When I traveled to Earth, I took all of Tarathi's belonging from Alagaesia, including his maps. There was one that had been marked in various location, but they meant nothing so I ignored their meaning, but now it is believed that this is where he has hidden the last eggs."

"A marked map is not enough evidence to say with certainty that the eggs are here!," Collin was fuming.

"Know your place, boy," Orik said without so much as glancing at Collin.

"I discern all of your turmoil but I assure you that I would not be telling you this if I was not sure of it's certainty," The Queen said.

"I am positive that all eggs have been returned to Alagaesia," Eragon concurred.

"How?," Serena asked.

"When we went through the portal the first time and landed, I could feel Alagaesia with me, it's essence, it's history and life. I knew that Tarathi had taken magic and the eggs here. You did not know this Rider Collin, but every time you brought a Rider home, I would travel back and I could always feel Alagaesian magic was still trapped in that world. The day the Final Rider came through the portal I went back and that world felt dead, there was no life left. Alagaesia is no longer bound to that world, the eggs have to be here there is no where else he could have taken them."

"I still don't get it," Serena shook her head," There are four more eggs with binding spells, right? How do we know they haven't been found or hatched for someone else? Even if they are still unhatched, why would it matter? None of us wish to connect with another dragon! The Rider from the legend was driven mad from his connections, why would we chose that for ourselves!?"

"It is true," Nasuada said quietly," We are unsure if these eggs are there or if they even exist, but it is something that needs to be taken care of for the safety of Alagaesia. We cannot let this knowledge be known by all, it is dangerous. I know that some do not approve of my reign as Queen, I am aware of the plots behind my back to overthrow my kingdom and if my enemies found this out, we would be lost."

"I respect this, my Queen, but I don't want to go anywhere near these eggs. I will not break my bond with Razor for the satisfaction of Alagaesia," Collin stated sternly.

"Rider Collin, I hear your cry. I empathize with the confusion you must be feeling along with the terror of losing your partner of mind and soul. But nowhere does it say you will break your bond with your previous dragon," Matthew said. "It will only make your bond stronger."

"So you want this, Matt? You want to be the Skulblaka Ebrithil? Are you that selfish?!"

"It has nothing to do with being selfish! I will do what I must to keep Alagaesia safe! Beloiuhn and I are in agreement of what this may mean for us, but is not about us, it is about Alagaesia."

"You sound insane!," Ashley shrieked. "Alagaesia is not in danger with this! No one even knows that Tarathi has done this!"

"If someone gets one of those dragons to hatch and connects with the rest of them, they will be unstoppable. The power of 4 dragons at their fingertips, we will be doomed!," Matthew shouted.

"Enough," Nasuada silenced them. "This was not meant to scare you or to cause petty fights. This is to let you know what I have learned: That there is a possibility of a quest here. I need these eggs to be found and brought back. Rider Collin, you have been pestering the head trainer for a journey of your own and now that I grant your wish you disapprove?

"No, Queen, it is not that I a disapprove but this is... this is... this is crazy."

"You can't possibly ask us to do this?," Serena looked to be on the verge of tears.

"We are not asking you," Arya said bluntly. "We are not demanding either. We thought it best to inform you that this is a very possible destiny for you. One of you may be a Skulblaka Ebrithil, the first Skulblaka Ebrithil ever."

"_You must remember how this shock is new to them, Arya. We have known of this for many months now and they have only known for minutes_," a deep voice said.

"Yes, Firnen. I know, but they cower away from the destiny bestowed on them. It is not the Rider way."

"Arya is right, there is no running form one's destiny," the Queen nodded," But it is only a destiny for one of you. There can only be one Skulblaka Ebrithil, so this may be a ray of hope in the void."

"There is still a 20% percent chance that it could happen!," Serena was obviously frustrated.

"Actually is quite less than 20%," Matthew interrupted," We must factor in if these eggs have been casted upon, if they are even still eggs, and that narrows the chances considerably."

"Tarathi was no fool," Eragon said quietly," If he had wanted this eggs to remain hidden, they would have. He would have not hidden just any egg either, they are casted upon I have no doubt."

_"What would this do to the Dragons,"_ Diamond asked," _If Ashely binds to another dragon, will I also be bound to that dragon?"_

"That is a good question. Matthew, is this said," The Queen turned to Matthew.

"It is not said what the Dragons will feel, only that the Rider will be connected to both at the same time."

"How do we find out who will become the Skulblaka Ebrithil?," Serena looked to the council.

"There are many stages, the first being the gedwëy ignasia," Arya replied.

"So, right now we all qualify to be that Skulbulba Ebrithil?," I observed and Matthew chuckled beside me.

I saw Eragon's mouth twitch into a smile while Arya turned to be with slanted fierce eyes," Yes. All of you have the potential to be the Skulblaka Ebrithil."

I glared at Matthew,_ Oh! I'M FUCKING SORRY I DON'T KNOW THIS FUCKING WIERD LANGUAGE! FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE DICKFACE MOTHERFUCKER! Go fuck yourself! What makes you so great? You can crack weird codes and shit? Codes of a crazy elf which makes you just as crazy you rude bastard!_

_"Acorn..."_

I turned and Arya and Eragon looking at me with eyes of shock while Nasuada and Orik didn't notice me at all. Saphira had her blue eyes set of me along with Firnen, the large green dragon.

_"Shit... They can hear me thoughts. I forgot."_

_"Try to calm yourself," _Luna advised.

"_Yeah_," I faced the floor to avoid their stares.

"There are many criteria to be the Skulblaka Ebrithil which Tarahti wrote in the form of a riddle. Matthew, could you recite it please?," Nasuada asked leaning into her chair.

"Yes, my Queen. The riddle states: A lies is never told when his name is said, the dragon master fills the hearts of his enemies with dread. He will rule of Alagaesia's domain as long as nature courses through his veins."

"So it's a guy! Not a girl!," Ashley jumped with joy.

"From what we know, Tarathi had no control over the gender of the Rider," Eragon stated.

"_That poem is useless! It tells us nothing!," _Verona huffed.

_"He rhymed is really well, how did he do that if he didn't know English?,"_ I asked Luna.

_"That is a question that deserves an answer. Ask the council."_

"How did-...," I began but was cut off by Collin.

"There is no way to tell who the Skulblaka Ebrithil is, is there?"

"All we have are the ramblings of a mad elf, Collin. This was all he said about it," Matthew defended.

"I know, it's not your fault Matt, but this doesn't help us at all. Half of the stuff in there says what happens after we know who he is!"

"Riders," Nasuada lifted a hand to silence them," The night grows old and tomorrow will be an early day for you all. I know you disapprove of the quest, but I will send all five of you to retrieve the first egg."

"What!?," Collin was in a rage," That is completely unnecessary. I can retrieve the egg on my on without trouble; Razor and I could leave tonight and have it back within the next 3 days."

"Rider Collin, we all know of our valor and strength and I thank you for your bold opposition but I have decided that all of you will go with the guidance of our finest escort."

"Your majesty, why would we take so many people on such a simple quest?," Serena asked.

"In partial, it is for the safety of the egg's return but it is mainly due to the fact that this is no simple task, Rider Serena. This is crucial to the safety of Alagaesia, if an enemy got a hold of those eggs and learned this spell, we could all be lost."

"Eragon and myself were wishing to accompany you all but the council thought it would draw unneeded attention to the mission," Arya said," So we chose the top trainees in the academy: Rider Ariana and Rider Quinten to escort you all safely to and from the first egg."

"Quinten? Really Queen Nasuada? I am sorry for my outburst but you know I can't stand him," Collin gritted his teeth.

"Yes, I know of the quarrel between you and Rider Quinten and what happened was most unfortunate but you will need his help if you are to get there and back, especially since I request that you leave your dragons here while you venture out for the egg."

"WHAT?! This is getting ridiculous!," Ashley shouted. "First you say we could be a dragon master which could ruin our lives, then you make us go and find the stupid egg that could ruin our lives, but OH WAIT now you cant go with your dragon! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but... No, I can't."

"These are not the Riders for the job, Queen Nasuada," Orik said casually.

"Really? Why do you think, King Orik?"

"They quiver with fear standing here, they do not seek the thrill of adventure like I believed them to. They are too attached to their dragons, I remember Eragon going on journey's alone without the help of Saphira, it was what needed to be done and he did it. I think we should just send Quinten and Ariana to retrieve the egg, it would be less hassle."

"That is true," Nasuada nodded," Yes," she turned back to Ashley. "King Orik says you are incapable of doing this, is that so?"

"No," Ashley's lip quivered," I can do it, but I don't think it's a good idea. I want nothing to do with that egg. Why don't we just find it and put it in the vault and wait for it to hatch for someone else?"

"That was an idea that we had discussed," Arya admitted," But it would only increase the chances of Skulblaka Ebrithil, the council prefers it to be one of you."

"I must say that I too am ashamed of the lack of courage shown here," Eragon sighed. "What surprises me most is that the newest member, The Final Rider, has yet to say a word against this journey and she had been here mere number of days."

I looked the ground and shuffled my feet," Thank you," I squeaked.

"That is remarkable," Orik disclosed," I figured her to be the first to say no, but instead it is Rider Collin and Rider Ashley."

"I did not refuse," Collin defended himself. "I accept the terms of this quest and promise to bring the egg back to the castle safely."

The Queen smiled and nodded, _Does that mean that Collin is the only one going? Do I have to go?_

Next Matthew stepped forward," My Queen, I graciously accept this challenge."

_So Matthew and Collin. Cool. _

The Queen's gaze rested on Ashley and Serena who both were looking elsewhere," I will not force any of you to go, do as our heart pleases. Do you reject this offer, Rider Serena?"

Serena pursed her lips and looked at the Queen," Yes, your majesty."

"And you, Rider Ashley."

Ashley crossed her arms," Yes, I will go."

All eyes turned to me and I swallowed the fear building up inside of me.

"Rider Alyson," The Queen smiled her gut wrenching smile," The Final Rider of Earth, will you accompany your fellow Riders to find this egg?"

My sweat was building and my temperature was climbing as I shuffled my feet. _Alagaesia is dangerous and I could die! Luna can't come and I will be stuck with Collin and Quinten arguing while Collin kisses Ashley all the time. I don't think I'm allowed to say no even if this is the worst idea ever..._

I turned to Luna who faced me and gave me a small smile," _Find the egg_," she said.

I looked back to the council," Sure."

* * *

**[1]- Dragon Master**

**[2]- Shining palm** (shows the bond between Rider and Dragon.)

**REALLY LONG! I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to do the council meeting all in one chapter and not drag. What do you think? I mean, I like it but I wrote it so that doesn't say much. Tell me how you feel about it and how I portrayed the original characters, I love the feedback.**

**Thank you so much for reading! Thank you!**


	30. Chapter 30

_What the fuck did I just do? No way in hell I just said yes, right? Fuck me. Why? Why do I do this to myself?_ Why did I say yes when Serena said no!

The Queen stood," Rider Serena, you may return to you quarters."

Serena mouth opened, I knew she wanted to say something and I held my breath. _Maybe she will change her mind!_ Serena closed her mouth, bowed to the council and left the ballroom with Verona. Now it was my mouth that was open,_ I can't believe she isn't coming?_

When the heavy doors closed Queen Nasuada smiled to us," Remaining Riders, I cannot express my gratitude to you for your sacrifice. I assure each of you that if this task is accomplished quickly with no complications, you will be rewarded. I wish you all luck, now go and rest because you depart at sunrise."

_I have to ask about home. This could be my only chance! _The other riders bowed and left the room, but I stood there like an idiot and said nothing. Nasuada was beginning to leave when Eragon caught her attention.

"My Queen, it seems that there is still an audience."

Nasuada turned to me with a questionable look," Rider Alyson, you have been dismissed."

"Uhm... yeah I know. I just need to talk to you real fast."

"The council is adjourned, if you wish to have a private conversation you may schedule one at a later time," she turned to leave the stage.

"NO! PLEASE!," she whipped around her eyes were angry for my outburst and I was beginning to doubt myself. "I-I'm sorry. It's just that I have to ask when I will return home."

Nasuada shifted her full attention to me," Home?"

"Yes, ma'am. I just wanted to know when I would be allowed to home... to earth."

The council all turned their eyes to Nasuada, waiting for her response at the edge of their seats.

"Rider Alyson, once you come through the portal, you do not leave. You are a sworn Alagaesian Rider, you are now one of us. This is your home."

_What? Is she stupid? I didn't sign up for this!_

"What?!," I practically shouted at her. The Queen was obviously not used to people behaving this was because her face was that of pure shock, not only her but the entire council. I took a deep breath," Again, I apologize. But you can't expect me to just leave my whole life behind because you want me to! That's just not going to happen. I have a family! I have to go back for them."

The Queen was no longer surprised, her eyes were cool and calm while her posture was stiff," In fact, Rider Alyson, that is exactly what I expect from you. No other Rider of Earth has returned to their home. I only allowed them to go and scour for new Riders, not to socialize and forget their duties."

"I don't have any duties! I'm not even allowed to go outside!"

"Remember you place, Rider," Arya reminded me with a glaring stare.

"Sorry," I apologized for the third time.

"That world has nothing for you anymore except memories. Cherish them and embrace your future here, this is where you'll stay."

My face fell to the ground letting the tears drip to the floor as my rage turned to sorrow._ They won't let me go home! WHAT KIND OF PLACE IS THIS! I can't stay here. I can't stay here._ "I can't stay here," I whispered to myself.

"What was that?," The Queen asked like my mother did when I would say something snarky under my breath.

"I can't stay here!," I returned my stare to her. "I won't. I'll go on this weird trip or whatever and find the egg but I have to go home. I have to see my mom, I can't just leave her... I promise I'll come back, but I can't just stay here."

"I will not tolerate your defiance. You will not speak of this anymore, you are dismissed," she spoke with absolute authority, there was no room to argue.

"_Let us go, my rider,_" Luna nudges me to the door.

"Perhaps, your majesty," a small voice said from behind me," we should consider the request."

I turned and saw that Eragon was coming to my rescue and my heart sped up.

"Eragon. Explain why you think this," Arya was confused.

"As you said, Nasuada, she shows defiance to the court but she also showed no fear for her first quest just days after arriving. She is obviously passionate about her home and I believe she will stop and nothing to go home. It is better that we allow it on our terms than to have her escape and have all of Alagaesia find out she defies us. We do not need that scandal again."

"Eragon is right, we do not need another dead Rider of Earth. When Rider Dalia disobeyed and passed in the tragic accident, it tarnished your spotless reputation, your highness," Orik said.

"Queen Arya, what do you think of allowing the Final Rider to go back to her homeland?," The Queen sat on her throne again.

"I believe it will be problematic. If we allow one to go home they will all wish to return to their families and what then? What if they refuse to come back and we must go and fetch them? This could expose our existence, start a war will are sure to lose. We have just secured our secret and to let her return puts the whole country at risk."

"I agree," Nasuada said with a curt nod.

"This is true," Orik agreed. "There is danger and risk in doing this, but it may be worth it. We must gain the trust of our Riders and show them that this is what they wish to do or we could lose them. Many riders that Eragon has trained do not wish to continue, they want to go and live away from the academy in peace. We are losing our army."

"We do not have Rider for an army, King Orik. We have them so they may keep the peace within our border, they only fight when necessary."

"I understand that, Arya, but we are constantly suspicious that outsiders to us may come and attack for what we offer: food, mineral, magic. It can not be said when they will strike."

"I believe we are getting off the topic at hand," The Queen stated. "I do not wish to allow Rider Alyson to return home, it exposes us all to Earth."

"No, it doesn't," I interjected. "If I go home, I literally stay at home. That's it."

"Where does your family think you are now?," Arya asked.

"They... Uhm, they think I'm at college orientation for the week."

"What happens when you return? They will expect you to stay?"

"No, I go back to the school for a full year. Except for I don't really go to that school, it's just a cover to come here. The only time I go home is for summer."

"So you have considered this?," Orik questioned.

"Yes, I have. I know this is the place for Luna and I could never make her leave, but I also know my family could not fathom this world. I am torn between the two."

"So you are," The Queen nodded. "The council and I will discuss this more after your departure. We will come to an agreement and inform you when you return."

"What? Wait, I don't want to go out there and possibly die just to have you say no!"

"This is final, Rider. You are dismissed."

_"Alyson, we should leave,"_ Luna encouraged.

I knew Luna was right, I couldn't fight them anymore. We left the ballroom with no answer and I still wanted to cry.

_"Do not be sad, my rider,"_ Luna consoled me,"_ You changed their minds to consider your request, I believe that is an accomplishment in itself."_

"I didn't do anything."

_"We should go to sleep."_

"I don't want to. I want to go for a ride," I turned to her," Please?"

"Even better," she grinned as we headed outside.

"HEY!," a loud voice barked from behind me._ Fuck_, I was sure we were caught by a guard and being sent to our room for disobeying orders. I turned and saw it was not a guard, but Matthew. He was me with his large green dragon following.

"Hi?," I waved awkwardly.

"What were you doing in there?," he asked with his arms crossed. I had underestimated his height, he was slightly taller than me and his size was intimidating. Looking at him I could see his face, he had thick glasses and bad acne with a small creepy mustache.

"Where? Oh, with the council?"

"Yes with the council," he rolled his eyes.

"Nothing, just talking."

Matthew turned to his dragon who came extremely close to me. I couldn't remember if it was a boy or a girl, but it wa inched from my face, gazing at me with dark green eyes.

_"It is her,"_ it relayed into my head.

"So now I also get to ask why you were sneaking around my room?," Matthew glared.

"Uhm, your room?"

"Yes! MY room! Not yours."

"OH! Is your room the dark green one? I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Why were you even in there?"

"I-I was just exploring the castle. Your r-room was the only door unlocked, I didn't think anyone lived there, it was fairly empty.

"I live there. Don't go in my room again," he turned and marched back to the stairs.

I sighed, _"It is not easy to make friends here."_

_"You have me."_

"That's true. Let's go."

Outside, the night was cold and the wind ran right through my clothes. I shivered but Luna didn't notice which I was thankful for, he would insist on going inside and I wanted to stay. I looked up into the night sky for stars but there was nothing but dark gray shadows of clouds.

Luna and I walked into across the cobblestone bridge, I looked over the edge to what was below but it was just black. The more of the castle I saw, the more I saw Hogwarts. We reached the grassy field that lay before the bridge and I mounted Luna and she jumped into the air. I was happy with how used to this I was getting, the feeling of my stomach falling was subsiding. Luna went higher and I could see the lights of the city, it was surprisingly similar to what a city at home would look like. Lights twinkling, people moving, the only thing was the lack of cars. There were no sounds of motors running and impatient people honking, it was jut civil and quiet.

"Go higher Luna."

She responded by climbing into the cloud, I leaned into her and stroked her scales. I felt a mist around us, I looked up to see we were in a cloud, I held out my hand and watched it pass through the gray nothingness. All at once, I was struck with sparkling stars all around me and my mouth fell . The moon was so big, it felt like it was at my fingertips, if I were to reach out I could stroke it. The moon had a light purple color while the around it sky blended of pinks and yellows into a dark blue that spread across the sky. The stars in this sky were brighter than any I had ever seen, the danced together and watching them they almost looked they were moving.

"Wow..."

_"This is a sight," _she leveled out and begin flying in line with the horizon.

My mind wandered to my own home sky, the mountain view of the stars. The sky was always so dark but it made the stars seem more precious, my heart swelled and I reminisced. A lump formed in my throat when I remembered I might never see that sky again.

Luna felt my despair," _Do not worry, my acorn. We will return."_

"We will_," _I brushed the tear from my cheek.

_"I wish I could come with you...,"_ Luna said softly.

"Me too."

_"Will you promise to be safe."_

"Of course, when am I not safe?" Luna gave a small chuckle which made me smile," I love you, Luna."

_"And I you, my Rider."_

"Forever?," I teased her.

_"I am forever yours."_

I leaned against her rough scales and wrapped my arms around her neck, closing my eyes. I would miss her so much, I didn't think I could go without her. She was such a big part of me, she was a piece of my and my identity now, a piece I could never give away. I never wanted to let her go and I knew she felt the same way about me, I loved her. I could feel my emotions building, but I suppressed them, I didn't want to ruin our moment together with tears of sadness. I sat up and watched the stars twinkle happily and it filled me with hope. Hope that I would return home to see my mom, hope that I would come back quickly for Luna, hope that everything would turn out the way it should. I small smiled formed on my lips and I let go of my fears, it was going to be okay. _I will always have Luna... always._

* * *

**Final Chapter Complete! It has been a long enough wait for not a lot of reading. I'm sorry!**

** I hope you like the ending but fear not because their story is not complete. Luna and Alyson will come back! What will happen, I don't even know!**

**Thank you for reading! Please Review!**

** WHAT DO YOU WANT TO HAPPEN?**


	31. Chapter 31

**HELLO!**  
**This is just to inform everyone that I had already started writing the second book and it has been posted! Forever Yours number two: Eternally Mine, is up and a go. If you like Forever Yours, keep the excitement rolling!**  
**THANK YOU SO MUCH!**


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